A new ‘MBacc’ qualification could be introduced later this year, and it’s set to offer high school students an alternative to university.
It’s all part of Andy Burnham‘s grand plans for Greater Manchester in 2024.
Now that we’re just a few days into the new year, the Greater Manchester Mayor has been reflecting on how far the region has come within the last 12 months, and has taken a moment to appreciate all the successful new projects that were delivered in 2023.
But now that the region’s plan for public transport is well underway and “proceeding at pace”, Mr Burnham has decided it’s time to turn his attentions onto two other “fundamental issues” that he claims “also need fixing” this year.
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🗣️Andy has set out his ambitions for 2024 in Greater Manchester as we enter the New Year
🚍This includes more buses coming under public control with the @BeeNetwork, the launch of the Good Landlord Charter, and the trailblazing Greater Manchester Baccalaureate 🏫
Wasting no time in kick-starting plans for potential change within the education sector this year, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has announced plans to launch a new Greater Manchester Baccalaureate – or the ‘MBacc’ – this autumn, and it’s intended to sit alongside the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) that already exists in secondary schools throughout England.
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Currently, almost two-thirds of 16-year olds in Greater Manchester do not pursue or achieve an EBacc, and an MBacc is “designed to plug that gap”.
GMCA says the EBacc is designed to maximise young people’s chances of a good university place, while in comparison, the MBacc is designed to “maximise their ability to get a good job in the growing success story of the Greater Manchester economy”.
New ‘MBacc’ qualification to offer Greater Manchester high school students an alternative to university / Credit: GMCA
The new qualification will give the region’s young people two clear equal paths to choose from when it’s time to pick their options at age 14 – one academic path, and one technical.
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Speaking ahead of the launch of the MBacc later this year, Andy Burnham said: “The MBacc will steer young people towards GCSEs and other qualifications that are most-favoured by employers, and then on to post-16 opportunities and the many great jobs we have in the Greater Manchester economy.
“It will offer young people an equal and clear technical pathway in life, help employers fill workforce shortages, and give investors another reason to come here.”
Mr Burnham explained that the MBacc will be built through the academic years of the rest of this decade.
And then, when looking ahead to the future, he hopes that by 2023, the MBacc will mean Greater Manchester boasts the country’s employer-driven “integrated technical education system”.
Featured Image – gov.uk
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
5th January 2024 
