The project team that developed this report would like to thank the Welsh Government for their support and contributions. In particular, the team would like to thank Georgina Haarhoff, Interim Director of Education (formerly Deputy Director School Improvement and Qualifications), as well as Jo Trott, Deputy Director Learner Pathways Division and Owain Lloyd, former Director of Education, for guiding the collaboration between the Welsh Government and the OECD. We are indebted to the support and insights provided by staff at the Welsh Government, particularly to Maxine Chichester and Alex Ingram.
We are very grateful to the officials and education experts from across the Welsh Government, Careers Wales, Colegau Cymru, Estyn, Higher Education Funding Council Wales and Qualifications Wales who have participated in discussions and workshops and who have oriented and guided the OECD team. We would like to thank the officials and experts who graciously shared their insights and knowledge with us during the workshops and meetings during the project team’s visit to Cardiff, in particular, Laura Evans, Emma Benger, Mike Keoghane, Alun Jones, Samantha Andrews, Rhian Edwards, Alison Bryant, Rhys Davies, Thomas Rose, Gail Deane and Julie Shipp.
We would also like to extend our thanks to the participants of the peer learning discussions with Wales: to Lilit Airapetian, Michel Zijffers and Iris Dijksterhuis from the Netherlands, to Aivar Hiio from Estonia, to Rachel Brandon, Julia White, Megan Miller, Jayne Dujic, Sue Chalmers, James Lord and Shirley Johnson from New Zealand, to Michael Walter and Angie Calleberg from Canada.
The report was led and drafted by Rebecca Frankum, with support and guidance from Hannah Kitchen (Above and Beyond: Transitions in Upper Secondary Education, OECD Secretariat). The review team thanks Andreas Schleicher, Director, Paulo Santiago, Head of the Policy Advice and Implementation Division, Lucie Cerna, leader of the Equity, Inclusion and Transitions in Education cluster at the OECD, for their support and contributions. Thanks go also to colleagues Eduardo Magalhães and Manuela Fitzpatrick for taking the time to provide a peer review of the report. Daiana Torres Lima and Eda Cabbar provided administrative support and oversaw the publication process.