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Multi award-winning British music artist Kano is backing the new Diploma qualification after starring in a TV advert launching today.

The advert features behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot of the video for Kano’s latest track, More Than One Way – hailed as the ‘hottest record in the world’ by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe – and highlights some of the 24 young people, each studying one of the 10 Diploma subject lines, who were involved in the song’s production.

The Diploma is a new qualification for 14- to 19-year-olds that combines practical and academic learning. Figures released last month show there are now more than 36,000 young people taking the Diploma.

The advert shows the young people being congratulated by Kano for their work on different parts of Kano’s music video shoot and production.

Kano, who contributed More Than One Way to the campaign in order to help inspire young people to aim high and achieve their aims, said:

I wanted to be involved in this project because there are too many kids who don’t think they can make it to the top. They give up before they’ve even started and that’s wrong – everyone can succeed, and it’s really important that young people believe in themselves.

I want kids to know that there are different ways of succeeding. Studying the Diploma is one of them – but there are lots of other education routes and everyone needs to know what their options are so they can make the best choice for themselves.

Regarding Diplomas, Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said:

The Diploma students involved in Kano’s inspirational video are the best evidence of what can be achieved with the right opportunities. We offer young people a range of options so that they do the qualifications that are right for them – the Diploma, GCSEs, A levels, Apprenticeships.

This means every young person now has the chance to learn in a way that suits them, and to enjoy success at school or college and later on in life.

The Diploma is a great qualification that is growing in popularity all the time and it is just one element of the offer we make to young people so that they can all succeed, whether their strengths are practical, academic or both.

Breadth of Diploma courses

The collaboration between Kano and the students demonstrates the breadth of Diploma courses available to young people to suit their different interests and talents, and shows how Diploma students use an exciting combination of academic knowledge and practical skills as part of their course.

For instance, on the day of the music video shoot the students used their specialist knowledge and skills to support Kano’s team on different elements of video production. Diploma in Hospitality students assisted the catering manager to ensure the cast and crew were fed, students of the Diploma in Business, Administration and Finance supported the producer on management of budgets and timings for the shoot, and Creative and Media students came up with some of the visual ideas.

More than one way to achieve your goals

In his track Kano urges young people to think big and achieve their goals – and reminds them that there’s more than one way of getting there. Changes to education and training for 14- to 19-year-olds mean that the main routes for young people are Diplomas, Apprenticeships, A levels and GCSEs, and the Foundation Learning tier.       

The Government’s newly launched Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) strategy helps ensure that young people have the support they need to make confident choices about the different options available to them, and are supported at every stage of their education and training.

Broadcast times

The advert will be broadcast on Monday 11 January – including on Channel 4 during The Simpsons (18.27); on Channel 4 during Hollyoaks (18.45); on ITV1 during Coronation Street (20.45); and on Channel 4 during Celebrity Big Brother (22.30) – and continue for four weeks.

Jake Williams, a Diploma in Information Technology student from Lister Community School in Newham, London, said:

Getting involved in the making of Kano’s video was really exciting and I had a brilliant day working on the set.

Studying the Diploma is fantastic. It has given me the chance to work on lots of really interesting projects, and learning about the world of work has made me excited about my future.

Brian Conway, a teacher at Notre Dame High School, in Norwich, said:

It was great that our students were able to get involved in a project like this and I know they learnt a lot from the experience. I’ve been teaching the Diploma over the last year and the positive reception we’ve had from students has made it very rewarding for all of us.

We need qualifications which inspire and motivate our young people and that will offer them more than one route through education – the Diploma is helping to achieve this.

I’m glad that this campaign will highlight the breadth of options now available to young people and I hope that learners will be inspired by Kano and our Diploma students who worked hard throughout the project.

To find out more about the Diploma or to download More Than One Way, visit the Diplomas website.

Further information

Having set aside a promising career in football to pursue music, Kano - real name Kane Robinson - forged his skills and reputation amid the white heat of the burgeoning, London-centric grime and street music scene during the initial years of the new century. Since his landmark 2005 debut album, Home Sweet Home, Kano has gone on to craft two further, equally accomplished studio albums (London Town and 140 Grime Street), a pair of incendiary mixtapes (The Mixtape and MC Number 1) and cemented himself as a major UK talent.  At 24, Kano is currently finishing his eagerly awaited new album, due out later this year, which will include input from other notable names including Hot Chip, Radioclit, Boys Noize, Mikey J and Fraser T Smith. 

The Diploma is part of the Government’s changes to education for 14-19 year olds.  Alongside it, GCSEs and A levels have been strengthened and more Apprenticeship opportunities are available. A new framework called Foundation Learning is being developed for students working below level 2 so they will leave school or college with the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage in their development. In addition, 11 year olds who started secondary school in September 2008 will be the first students who will all continue their education or training to 17. Those who started in September 2009 will continue until they are 18 years old. The 10 Diploma lines of learning are: Construction and the Built Environment; Creative and Media; Engineering; IT; Society, Health and Development; Business, Administration and Finance; Environment and Land-based Studies; Hair and Beauty Studies; Hospitality; and Manufacturing and Product Design.

The Foundation, Higher and Advanced Diplomas are composite qualifications made up of three parts:  principal learning, generic learning, and additional and specialist learning (ASL).  The ASL component allows learners to select qualifications to include as part of their Diploma programme, and this can include an A level.

Recent UCAS figures show that over 80 per cent of university undergraduate courses in the UK will accept applications from Advanced Diploma students from 2010. In September 2009, more than 36,000 young people were taking the Diploma, more than three times more than September 2008, when the qualification was introduced.

All 16 and 17 year olds are guaranteed a suitable offer of a place in learning, whether that’s at school, college, in training or an Apprenticeship. More than 1.5 million post-16 learning places – the highest number ever – will be available to support young people to stay on in education or training to build the skills and qualifications they need to succeed.

Young people have access to a range of financial support, including Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), which offers means-tested payments of up to £30 per week.