The Secretary of State for Education's recent announcement of an English Baccalaureate at 16+ has opened up a debate about the nature of general education in the English upper secondary system. Drawing on evidence from national and local studies, we argue that it is important to see general education in England, not only in terms of the curriculum, but also as the product of a range of inter-related factors, which together form a "model". Using this analytical framework, we describe and analyse the two models of general education associated with the New Labour and Coalition administrations respectively. We conclude by suggesting a set of challenges and principles to inform the development of a third, curriculum-led model.