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Half of A-level students shun university
A poll* of 16-18-year-olds shows that 47% plan to go straight to work while 12% still uncertain about university education. More than half of the students currently taking A-levels are not planning to go to university or are undecided about taking up a place because they can't afford the cost.
Almost half - 47% - of the 1,129 students aged 16 to 18 who responded to the survey said they plan to go straight into employment after their A-levels or equivalent studies. A further 12% were unsure what they would do. Of those who said they wanted to go straight into work, 11% wanted to “start earning straight away”, 6% explained that university just wasn't for them while 67% said they felt they “couldn't afford university due to the planned rises in tuition fees”.
The Office of Fair Access announced last week that every one of the 123 universities and university colleges in England intends to charge £6,000 or more to full time undergraduates from the autumn of 2012, while research by the Guardian has revealed that almost three-quarters of English universities and university colleges intend to charge £9,000 for at least some of their courses.
Although 39% of A-level students plan to go to university, they are still worried about money with a fifth, 19%, saying the fees involved “caused them concern”. Furthermore, just less than a quarter, 22%, of the respondents who were planning on going to university said they felt “ressured” to do so by family members or other people they knew.