What do year 10 students think about higher education?

• This blog was kindly authored for HEPI by Bridget Duffy, Year 10.

When I think about higher education the only thing that comes to mind is university. I know little to nothing about any other options and neither do any of my peers.

The only time an adult has ever come to me directly about other options for higher education was one day in year 9, when everyone in my year was taken down to the career’s office, to be told all the options for what we could do once we have completed our GCSEs. After our 5 minutes were finished, it was another group’s turn to come down and we were sent back to lesson.

Since this talk, I have completely forgotten all the details of the options given because no one has mentioned anything other than university. I go to a comprehensive school in central London, yet I still feel like everyone there is expected to go to university. Until today, I was not even aware that the last government was so focused on apprenticeships, and I doubt many people my age know they are available.

I would like to go to university, but I am not sure whether it is worth it. On one hand, university is expensive and although the loans provided by the government would help me throughout the process they will create future financial instability, putting me in debt for years to come. As experience in employment becomes more important and the availability of work is decreasing, I am not guaranteed a better job by just attending university.

However, on the other hand, it allows me to access new opportunities through a higher level of education as the learning is more problem-solving based. Secondly, you can learn independence at universities whilst having the comfort and support of home. Finally, the time at university allows you to figure out what to do in the future whilst being semi-dependent which is a unique situation.

There is a lot more pressure on me to go to university than to do an apprenticeship or get a job straight after my A-levels, part of the reason for this is that my parents were the first in their families to go to university. This is not to say my parents tell me I must go; the implications are through subtle comments like ‘what university would you like to go to?’ implying the decision has already been made or the compulsion can be more internalised.

Maybe going forward it would be useful if the price of universities could be reduced using the tax which might be placed on private schools. Although some people may argue that the tax would be better utilised in state schools, the best way to help address disparities in access to education is not for the money to be invested in state schools but rather to decrease university prices.

Although my future of attending university has already been written, whether it is the best option for my future remains debatable.