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Care leavers will be the biggest losers in fight for HE places

1 min read Social Care
In a few days, our youngest, Peter, will be one of the lucky ones off to start his new life in higher education. He got the grades he needed to study music production at Leeds College of Music, so it was all (relatively) stress-free. And it will be a relief having him drum somewhere else.

But even at the end of clearing there are many who have passed A-levels only to be told that they just aren't good enough. The temptation is to resit; but resitters tend to improve by only one grade, and universities tend to increase their demands by one grade, so whether this is sensible is debatable. Some may seek work directly, though in the present economic climate that may be harder than before. Others may take a gap year.

What of the remainder? They may well be attracted by some of the higher-level vocational courses on offer within further education, in say, engineering, business or art and design, and that would be a positive outcome. And some school leavers who were thinking about A-levels may now plump instead for vocational further education at age 16. But there are problems ahead, as further education colleges fill up with those who did not make the higher education grade; and colleges will have financial pressures of their own. As they move to new funding arrangements, any growth will not be funded until the next academic year.

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