The Unfunded Students

I first made the decision to leave my grammar school of five years at the beginning of my final year. I had become tired of my same routine and the extreme pressure of the grammar school system – something my personality wasn’t cut out for and in turn left me with a detrimental fear of failure. I began to search for different places to go to study my a-levels and came across a college a few towns away from me, one of the only non-school sixth forms in my area. I decided to make the move. Excited about my new adventure, I phoned my friend to tell them of my decision and share the update with them, however, their excitement didn’t match mine. Instead I received confusion at why my ‘academic’ self was choosing to go to a college and do a vocational course instead of just staying at grammar school. I felt defensive of my choice and reassured them that “don’t worry they do a-levels as well as vocational courses”, my reassurances in fact led them to apply too. I then told a trusted teacher of my decision to which she responded with a warning not to tell my other GCSE teachers, as they would be less inclined to help me in my studies if they were aware I was going to become a college student.

Despite how defensive I was of my decision, it never occurred to me to question why colleges have such a stigma against them. From my experience of the past year I can only assume it is because of the amount of freedom given to students, however, this isn’t a bad thing. The freedom I have been granted has allowed me to fall in love with studying again, to achieve because it makes me happy and because I’m motivated to improve my own knowledge. What others choose to do with that freedom is their own decision, but I have been given so many opportunities that have made me a far more well-rounded and confident person, which I would never have received from my time at secondary school. This is all whilst not mentioning the specialist facilities and staff dedicated to childcare, mental health, and disabilities, which make college a safe and happy environment. The benefits of the college system also apply to those studying vocational subjects too, who have had experiences working in the real world whilst learning and gaining qualifications which seems far more successful at preparing young people for the workplace than the theoretical nature of more ‘academic’ qualifications.

The discrimination against colleges is systemic, demonstrated by the fact that per student, colleges get less funding than sixth forms. This is blatant inequality and cannot be justified on any other grounds, college students are valued less by the government and has thus led to staff shortages, overworked remaining staff, and a lack of supplies. The current state of college funding means that the successful running of colleges is not sustainable. There has been a recent announcement regarding an increase in school funding, meaning that per student schools are now getting an extra £50, compared to the extra £30 they were getting more than colleges before. Whilst £50 per student doesn’t seem much, calculated on the basis of how many students attend my college, we are missing out on at least £125,000 per year. This funding could vastly improve the college system and provide supplies and teaching staff, something the government should be prioritising, especially considering the current narrative that we are going to have a lack of skilled workers in our economy because of Brexit. The students taking vocational courses are our home-grown skilled workers, and the government should be giving them equal opportunities instead of contributing to the stigma that college education is worth less than sixth form education.

To combat this inequality, my politics classmates and I decided to create a petition regarding the need for increased and equal funding. The petition gained 10,000 signatures within the first three days and is continuing to do well, reaching 55,000 signatures at the time of writing. Many others are able to see the discrimination that 2/3 of a-level students throughout the UK are facing, solely based on the choice of institution they go to. Students and staff need to take action against the injustice they are facing and hold the government to account on providing sustainable and quality education for all students, no matter the course or the institution.

*Click photo to sign the e-petition

#Education #Budget #UKpolitics