The government has confirmed its ambition for 90% of year 10 pupils to study EBacc GCSEs - English, maths, history or geography, the sciences and a language - by 2025.

The original Implementing the English Baccalaureate consultation, which closed 18 months ago, had proposed a deadline of 2020, but a 5 year delay had already been signalled in the Conservative Party general election manifesto.

As a stepping stone to the ambition, the government has announced that 75% of year 10 pupils will be studying EBacc GCSEs by 2022.

Other points emerging from the government’s response to the EBacc consultation include:

• The headline EBacc performance measure will change next year. From 2018, the measure will change from the proportion of pupils achieving a GCSE grade 5 and above in the EBacc subjects to an EBacc average point score.
• The DfE has decided that it is "not appropriate" to expect the same rates of EBacc entry from university technical colleges, studio schools and further education colleges with Key Stage 4 provision, as in mainstream schools.  The students from these providers will therefore not be included in the calculation of the 75% target for 2022, or the 90% ambition for 2025.

• Responses to the consultation raised concerns about the recruitment of teachers required to meet the EBacc ambition, particularly in MFL, but also in science and maths.
• 71% of consultation responses made reference to the difficulties schools will face in maintaining a broad and balanced curriculum.