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January is always a difficult month in school. Teachers and pupils alike are recovering from the festivities of Christmas. The days are bleak and the night’s dark and spring still seems a long way off. For those students in Year 11, it really is the final push towards those important exams in May.
For parents of children due to start school in September January brings the final rush of primary school admission application forms. The wait until April when the place is confirmed can be a long one. The School Admissions Code was revised in December 2014 and provides statutory guidance for school admission policies. Parents of primary children who are not successful in securing a place at their preferred school can go through appeal.
There are two main topics of interest within the educational sector this month. The first is the issue of vocational education verses the academic pathway. The second topic of interest is the number of UK students choosing to continue their academic studies at Dutch Universities.
“Vocational” or “Academic” education
Most of us are aware that vocational skills are vital for the economy. Yet it is the academic pathway that seems to hold higher status, and because of this, it continues to attract students into university and further education. However, there is a need for vocational education now more than ever before as employers are warning about skills shortages and not being able to find the right staff. A major report commissioned by the City and Guilds group, which provides vocational qualifications, shows the stigma of vocational education is a global issue. The study carried out by the Centre for Business and Economics shows that “Globally, the stigma of vocational education often reduces it to a second choice to academia.”
In the UK, there is a target for three million apprentices within the next five years. These apprentices will yield a substantial long-term benefit to the UK economy, cutting unemployment and boosting productivity.
Education – The Midlands or The Netherlands?
This is the university application season for UK students. The more traditional open days are now peppered with trips across the water to Amsterdam. Since tuition fees rose to £9,000 in England students have been considering heading for cheaper European universities, particularly those in the Netherlands. There are currently 2,600 UK students in universities in Amsterdam this term – up by a third in a year. As university education is significantly cheaper than in the UK with annual fees of approximately £1,400 it also allows students to complete their education free from the student loan debt many students who study in the UK face.
With so many students looking for work, to claim you have studied abroad shows a certain amount of bravery and makes the student stand out from the rest when employers are looking for new starters. The Netherlands is also reasonably quick and cheap to get to. With cheap flights and ferries across the North Sea it is understandable why many of our students are making the decision to continue their academic studies across the water.
We should be proud of our students taking the initiative and having the confidence to study abroad. However there is a worry that we risk our students not bringing back what they have learned as many many choose to stay in the country they have called home whilst they have been studying their chosen vocation.
Originally written 4 January 2016