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A research team at the National Foundation for Educational Research was commissioned in 1996 by the Department for Education and Employment to undertake a review of research into the impact of the work-related curriculum on the motivation and achievements of young people aged 14-16. Definitions of 'work-related curriculum' and of impact accordingly needed to be established and a range of possible objectives for work-related provision needed to be clarified. This article presents the main findings of the resultant review, together with a discussion of some of the conceptual and methodological issues it raised. Not unexpectedly, evidence of differential impact on different groups of students, as well as of variable impact of different types of provision, was found. Recommendations for how the work-related curriculum might be further strengthened are therefore also suggested.