Cheating for a school place

This issue has reared its head in the press again this week and has sparked much conversation and debate. The argument put forward this week is that more should be done to deter parents from lying to get their child in to the school of their choice and there should be a bigger crackdown on those parents that have done this.

Now if you ask many parents they will say that they want thee best for their children and I think you have to commend parents that put their children first and do anything they can to give their children the best upbringing possible but the question is where do you draw the line?

If you as a parent are willing to cheat and lie to get your child in to the school of your choosing what message does that send to your children. As parents we have to be examples to our children. There are other problems associated with cheating to get in to schools like if other children find out that you cheated to get your child in they may pick on your child or you yourself may have problems with other parents at the school.

Schools can be a bit of a postcode lottery at times which I don’t think is fair but cheating is not the answer. If you happen to have a house in the radius of a good school your lucky but then what can happen is that wealthier families can afford to buy and move in to houses near these schools to get their children in which isn’t cheating but unfair on low income families who can’t do that.

I think more needs to be done to improve failing or underperforming schools as this is the only way we will avoid this situation. At the moment it seems more is being done on the prevention side but not the cure. It is only when we work on the cure that we will improve education for young people which is the real issue here.

What are your thoughts on cheating to get a school place? We would love to know and you can share your thoughts by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=789

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Student Loans

In many cities and towns across the UK over the last week you will have noticed that its that time of year again as students descend on University for Freshers Week and to start their term. This year there has been a record number of students applying for University and getting placed so there will be even more of them wondering around your local area.

However due to the record uptake and the recession it has caused problems with student funding with many students still waiting to receive their allocated student loan. Without student loans many people would be unable to afford to go to University and it is causing many problems and stress for students up and down the land. Some students don’t even know yet how much they will be receiving in payments so can’t even budget yet as they have no clue how much they will be entitled to.

The University year doesn’t get delayed because of students not getting student loans so students have been forced to try and get money from other areas whilst they wait for the money to come in. Some are getting loans from high street banks, some are having to get jobs and some are having to borrow from friends and family. These solutions are only going to add to their long-term debt or affect their ability to achieve on their course.

Universities still expect their fees, landlords still expect their rent and other things have to be paid for including food, bills, books and all other imaginable essential living items regardless of whether your student loan has come in or not. This means that some people will leave University in more debt than they should do or even worse still have to leave the course because they can’t afford to be on it without the student loan.

Many of the current MP’s got their University education for free so its about time they did something to help put pressure on the loan companies to sort this out or find a way to deal with the problem as if it isn’t rectified it could lead to a brain drain from University with high achieving students being forced to quit their course. If left any longer this problem will have unfair affect on students from poorer backgrounds, those who don’t have friends or family who can lend them money, or savings they can dip in to. Students from wealthier backgrounds may be able to deal with the situation and keep on going but University should be for everyone regardless of their financial situation.

Have you been caught up in the Student loans problem? If so we would like to hear what you think and you can share your views by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=780

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Motivation, Politics and the classroom

The President of the United States of America Barack Obama has been making headlines this week for a speech he made which was broadcast to schools across the country. In this speech he encouraged children that if they want to achieve anything they will need an education to do it and that the future of the country depended on their educational achievement.

Many people in the US have been unhappy with his speech, as they believe he is trying to indoctrinate young people in to his political agenda. Instead of bringing politics in to the classroom he has brought himself in to the classroom with a motivational and inspirational message.

Now I am all for public and famous figures doing all they can to inspire and motivate young people to achieve all that they can and I think more people should use their fame or stature to do this. I think where Obama has come unstuck is when he says that the future of the country depends on you. No matter how true I think this statement is I think he should have gone down the route of encouraging young people to work hard to see what they can achieve in their own life and not tagged on the message about the country.

In the UK will we see Gordon Brown trying a similar thing and if he did what would the reaction be? I think Obama is in a unique place as I think he is one of the most liked and recognized world leaders amongst the young community that there has been so young people in America are probably more likely to listen to him than say if Gordon Brown tried the same thing over here.

Overall I think world leaders should always be doing more to help and inspire young people but it needs to be for the right reasons not for point scoring or some other hidden agenda and as Obama has found out the way the message is delivered is so important as young minds are very impressionable.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Competitiveness against intelligence

Schools were once seen as a place of learning where young people could experiment and explore. A place where young people could feed their minds with knowledge and where they were given freedom to research and study things which interested them. Now to me as an outsider looking in Schools seem to be more about competition than anything else.

With more people looking to stay in education after school due to the lack of jobs out there, there is a higher level of competition for these places. To get funding and a good reputation schools are pressured in to getting their grade averages up so now many schools will choose to offer subjects where it will be easier for their students to get good grades in. GCSE and A Level results can give off the illusion that the school is improving where in actual fact it could just mean less students are doing so called harder subjects or that the exams themselves are getting easier.

Now I am one for competition as young people need to know how to achieve in a competitive world as that is what the outside world will bring them after they leave education but competition shouldn’t take the lead over learning. Real intelligence can’t be measured by exam scores. If you get good grades but haven’t come through a school system which has nurtured your intelligence development it may mean that you struggle on that A Level of University course you have applied for. A grade is just a means to get on to another course or a job but if you aren’t prepared for that course or the job you are going to fail in the next stage of your life.

I think it is quite ridiculous how we can live in a world where sports days are getting banned or changed to take away competitiveness from it yet school grades and league tables are plastered all over local and national media for all to see as each school tries to out do the other.

Do you think School exams are getting easier? We would like to know your thoughts and you can share them by joining in our topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=770


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Young People and the recession

In new studies recently released it says that young people are the most optimistic about this country getting itself out of recession than any other demographic but they are being the worst hit by job losses and the lack of jobs going around with a high percentage now out of work and/or claiming Job Seekers Allowance. Some over 16’s have now been out of work for some years and some are yet to be able to find their first job.

Some peoples answer to this is to stay in education with applications for Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses going up. These young applicants are obviously hoping if they stay in education long enough the recession will be over by the time they finish their course but if it isn’t then they will have increased debt to deal with and still very limited job prospects.

I think the government need to step in and do a lot more for young people during this period as the more dissatisfied young people with no money and time on their hands we have it could lead to an increased level in youth crime. If we try and look at it positively with so many young people out of work we have so many man hours available to this country which we need to utilize by getting these young people doing something active and positive which helps this country and helps them get back in to work and to build up experience. If we were to do this we would also lessen the chance for youth crime in the young unemployed group.

With more young people out of work more people are claiming benefits which is more government money being spent. Now this money needs to be spent and unemployed people need it but the government need to invest in getting young people back in to work so they don’t need to claim benefits and save this country money in the long term. As the more people claiming money out of the government and not contributing to the economy the longer it is going to take to get out of this recession.

If the research is true and the young unemployed group are the most positive and optimistic about getting out of recession then we need to harness this positivism. Lets repay their positivism and help keep them positive by helping them as we are going to need this energy to help us get out of this recession.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

School Grading Systems

Ever since I started TYP I have been very outspoken on school league tables. In my opinion you can’t judge the successfulness of a school based on exam results because it means some schools will never have the chance t finish top. Should schools be judge more on the progress of their students rather than the final grade they get? And shouldn’t schools be judge on the number of their students that go on to gain skilled jobs as surely school is just suppose to be a building block to make a pupil a well rounded member of society who can get a job doing something they love doing.

In the news this week has been a new school grading system which has been implemented in America which sees schools getting graded from A – E which is measured not just against exam results but behaviour and progress as well. This gives the chance for schools from deprived areas a chance of being a top school which they probably wouldn’t have under our league table system.

Now no system is perfect and this has its floors as well because if you are a top school with pupils consistently getting a high grade you aren’t going to get top marks for progress. However I do feel for pupils to behave better in schools they have to have a sense of pride in their school and this system lets the pupils who go to schools in run down areas the chance to be proud of their school.

The news is now that they are heading our way to the UK which has been met with positive and negative feedback. Myself personally I think grades speak form themselves so parents that would have sent to their kids to a school that achieve top exam grades are going to continue to send their children there but this system can bring the feel good factor to some schools and give them something achievable to work towards. Most schools know that they will never be top of the league table so may think why bother but with this system every school has the chance to earn an A.

Like I said at the top I can’t wait until the day we see league tables based on pupils life outside of school but I think this is a step in the right direction. I think schools need to start putting more emphasis on the characters they are developing in their pupils and what contribution they will make to society, not just worry about grades. I think both systems can and should be used in the UK as I think it help parents make informed choices of where their children go to school and the parents will be able to ascertain quicker the sort of standard at their child’s school.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Raising the Bar

As we get closer to the end of the college year many students will be left anxiously waiting if they get accepted to their first choice university after completing their UCAS form. This year however one of the so called top two Universities Cambridge has raised the bar even higher. This year instead of the typical three A’s they now need an A* and 2 A’s.

The pressure put on students in college is immense as they know once they have got an offer from a University if they don’t get the grades they are predicted then they may not get the place. Now yes I think students need to be challenged and need to want to get the highest grades possible but in a situation which isn’t as pressurised because as it stands one 2 hour exam could change the direction of your life completely.

I think that Universities need to look equally at what the student can bring to the university in the way of other skills, interests, knowledge and character as well as their grades. This is why I think that Universities who ask students to submit work, projects, CV’s etc. are much better placed to judge an applicant and are running a better system.

The problem with the big two Oxford and Cambridge is recently I have been speaking to parents of children who have reached the right grades but still can’t get in so just getting these grades does not guarantee you a place. Some people work hard for years in order to try and get a place at one of the big two and still don’t get in. In the outside world you will need more than grades to get you through so I think it is important that Universities encourage their applicant to be well rounded individuals. As Oxford and Cambridge show it’s not your grades alone that will get you in.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Become a Teacher in Six Months

This week I wanted to talk about news in the UK educational world which has caused a stir. The government have unveiled plans to change the time it takes to complete a teaching qualification to six months from a year which the course currently takes.

This has been seen as many as way to cash in on the current quality of applicants on the job market who may have fallen out of high power jobs due to the credit crunch and to make teaching more appealing to them. For some time the government has been advertising hard trying to get more people in to teaching and has offered many financial incentives but this could be their most newsworthy step to date.

With stories of schools becoming more unruly places and with many people complaining about the lack of respect some pupils have for teachers is six months training going to be enough time for people to learn the skills needed for the modern classroom?

Is this approach going to see quantity over quality? Are the government just trying to get more people in to teaching regardless of their training and suitability? Is this move going to affect the standard of teaching young people receive in our schools? These are just a handful of the questions that myself and other people across the country are asking this week.

Do we want a teaching pool filled with ex-bankers? I think personally that this country needs a diverse range of teachers from different backgrounds if we are truly going to give these young people the best education we can. Getting ex-bankers back in to work and to help create more teachers is a short term fix to some of the problems this country has but long term what problems is it going to cause for the young people in school today when they graduate? Are they going to have the education they need in order to contribute in the best way they can to our economy?

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Knowledge of the job market

With the global credit crunch hitting harder and with more closures and redundancies being reported everyday young peoples knowledge of the job market is becoming increasingly important.

For the college student deciding on what course to study at University they now have to start thinking about what industries are making money and which are not cutting back on jobs. Now by the time they have graduated the job market may be a different place so they always have to be aware of what is happening and what they think will happen over the next three years.

For the education leaver who is going in to the work place there is less choice around. With low skill and base level job numbers shrinking it is becoming harder to get a foot on the bottom ladder of a company and work your way up. If you are just looking to get some money or some experience again these jobs are hard to come by as now companies only want to spend money on people they think will contribute to the company and not someone they have to invest a lot of time in.

For the University Graduate there are less graduate positions available so they have to find a way of making themselves stand out from the crowd. They have to have more knowledge than the other graduates looking for those jobs and do more research to get themselves to the top of the pile, it really is survival of the fittest.

For those currently in work it is time to be thinking of ways in which you can make yourself irreplaceable in your company. It is also a time for being prepared in case the credit crunch hits the company you are working for, know what your options are and what you can do if you are made redundant.

My advice to surviving this period is to try and really master a skill whatever that may be. Companies are always going to need skilled staff to keep their company going. So whatever skill that may be you need to start really working on it and make sure you can do that skill better than anybody else.

To give us your thoughts on the credit crunch and job market why not join in our topic of the week which can be found by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=644

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Back to School

This week many young people up and down England will be going back to school after a six week break which has seen more rain than sun. Most young people will be wishing they had more days off and didn’t have to go back this week but that would be the same story if they went back this week or next month as everyone always wants more.

Over the last couple of weeks parents will have been shopping with their children for new school uniforms, shoes and other clothing wear as well as going to the stationeries to get all the stationery they need for their school year. As well as preparing their children with clothes and equipment for school they will be starting to prepare them mentally for school with bed times reverting back to normal and talks about what is expected of their children this year.

For young people the beginning of the school year can be a mix of emotions, gladness at going back to see friends, anxiety about a new school or a new teacher but most importantly it’s a time to think about their targets for the year and what they want to achieve out of the year. Every year spent at school is a year closer to the real world of optional education and the workplace so with every year the importance grows to do well and to be ready for the challenges after your school years are over.

What I say to young people is to sit down with their families before the year starts and set some goals for the year, goals which are going to challenge you to work your hardest but goals that you can achieve. Once this is done you need an action plan on how you are going to make this happen and you need to stick to the action plan as if the action plan is a good action plan and you stick to it you will achieve results. By having an action plan it gives us something we can look at on a week by week basis to measure our progress. This is important as many people start the school year with big dreams of what they want to achieve but after a few weeks have forgotten about what it is they wanted to achieve and have got caught up in the distractions of school life. It’s easy to put your all in on the first day and get all your homework done but what about in the fourth or the fifth month. School is a marathon and not a sprint.

Regardless of what you pack in your pencil case, regardless if you haven’t got a compass or a protractor as long as you make sure to pack your can do attitude, your action plan and your goals and live by them you will have a successful year this year.

What are your goals for this year? Are you looking forward to the year ahead at school? We want to know your thoughts and you can share them by joining in our discussion topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=548

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

The Importance of After School clubs and activities

This week in the news it has been reported that in the region of 500 schools are having their after school club budgets cut in Northern Ireland.

Now due to the financial situation of the UK and the changes in society with higher numbers of single parent families the importance and demand of these clubs is much higher. Many families cannot afford the rising cost of childcare and cannot afford to clock off work early and lose hours of paid work.

On top of this we have national rises in the level of youth related crime with many people and organisations crying out for better facilities for young people to keep them off the street. This is why I think it is a sad day when things like this happen and cutting their budgets is a very short sighted idea as the money saved by this could be lost in the rise of youth crime, the change in the financial situation of many homes and parents contributing less working hours in a week which through rising taxation pumps money back in to the government.

I think after school clubs can play a vital role in a child’s development and should be used by children regardless of if they did have someone at home who could look after them. After school clubs provide great learning environments for young people as it gives them freedom to learn more about what interests them in a less formal setting. These clubs also give young people chance to do their homework and catch up with work without all the noise and distractions they have at home so they can reduce a better high quality result or piece of work to hand in.

It’s not just on the education side that clubs help young people as there are also many sporting clubs which are great for helping keep our nation of young people healthy and save the NHS on time and resources. Sporting clubs also help young people with key things like team work. After school clubs also help broaden young peoples social skills and circle as they get to interact with people they may not be in classes with and form strong bonds with a good group of friends.

I think anything that keeps young people away from the TV and the video games whilst giving them a safe and controlled environment to develop and grow should be commended and not have their budgets taken away.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Career Advice!

The BBC news website reported two news stories on the subject of career advice and chosen careers which got me thinking:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7323033.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7318919.stm

Now I can’t say I am shocked by these findings as I have thought this for some time and it’s quite funny how these stories which are so related came out in the same week. I believe that career advice has been inadequate for some time and big changes need to be made if we are going to get young people in to the right careers and get unemployment levels down.

The education system seems to have a one size fits all approach with students forced to become jack of all trades and master of none in a race to look good in the school league tables. The only thing schools get graded on are exam grades and not what careers their students go in to so the only thing they are interested in is there results. Until schools get graded or rewarded based on what careers their students go in to they aren’t going to invest time in proper career advice and nor should they have to if they aren’t getting the right reward for it.

Employers are looking for young people who are highly skilled and educated in specific areas not people who are moderately skilled in many areas. Young people aren’t informed about this at school though or told enough about what qualifications you need for certain jobs. This is the information young people need to be equipped with to get ahead in the market place but the school system keeps them in the dark with the blinkers on in order to make sure they try their best at all subjects so they can get highest league table place possible. If young people were armed with this information they probably wouldn’t try as hard at the subjects they didn’t need but improve vastly in the areas that were linked to their career choice.

Yes young people need to be able to be flexible and adapt in this ever changing world so need as many skills as possible but they also need to have strong skills in the areas they want to work in. The other information young people need is to be told how much certain jobs pay and how accessible these jobs are in the local area as it may be a young person is investing time getting ready for an occupation which may not pay enough to support them or may not be available locally. Young people need to be made more aware of the work place and schools need to devote time to career studies on a regular basis. Every pupil at school should have to go to career advice mandatory and career advice shouldn’t be something that is optional and hidden away.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Getting the right start – School selection

Over the last couple of weeks the news that has been revolving around the educational world and some of then national headlines has been the selection process of parents selecting a school for their child. According to news today one in five parents didn’t get their child in to their first choice school. Now I know every parent wants the best for their child but my parents never got the chance to select my school, I just went to my nearest school and got a quite adequate education.

When did this first come in to place that parents could choose? I am all for parents taking an active role in their child’s development but the question I have is how can someone know where a child is going to learn and develop the best? Yes you can look at schools and see which have the best facilities and which fair the best in league tables but there may be schools which have less facilities or that don’t fair so highly in league tables but are more suited for your child’s development. It may be at a school lower down the league table that there may be an inspirational teacher that gets your child enthused in a subject or they may learn more by having to make do with not the best text books or equipment.

On top of all of this there are other factors which aren’t measurable like the development of personal and social skills which happen at schools. Going to school is not just about grades it is about developing and growing as a person who is ready for the world after school. Like I have had said in previous blogs a more important and measurable league table for schools would be to compare every school on what jobs their pupils ending up going to do after they finished education.

Now I’m not judging parents here who have to place their children at schools which aren’t their nearest because their nearest is full. Remember though if you do send your child to a school further away when there are local schools available you have to factor in the lost time through travelling that may affect their ability to perform and develop as well as the affects that moving them out of their social circle and putting them in to a new one will have whether positive or negative.

If each child had to go to their nearest school it would in my opinion improve the overall standard of schools and remove elitism in education and in society. Some of the world’s greatest world changers went to some of the most so called deprived schools. A pupil shouldn’t be judged by the school that they go to but on their own abilities. It’s like with league tables parents put so much importance on looking at the league table which encompasses every student at the school when really they are and should only be worried about their child’s education not everyone else’s.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Experience over Qualifications?

This week I am addressing a hot topic which over the last year I have found myself in many long conversations talking about and discussing this being what is more important to have in order to get a job experience or qualifications?

With the rise in number of people attending university and completing Degrees it seems that some of the shine have been taken off them especially now that you can get a degree in any thing from Surfing to David Beckham. No longer is university just for the financial and social elite.

Getting a job and doing well at a job interview is all about standing out from the crowd and being better than the other candidates so now with degrees being common place it seems a degree alone will not cut it in the workplace. Many job adverts are now asking for a minimum of three years work experience in the desired field before they will consider you.

Now you say how can I get the experience when I am at university? This is a true point so this is why you need to know before you go to university what career you want to work in and what is the best path to get you there. Many university students just go to university as they don’t know what else to do but if you can go in knowing what you want to do it is a big advantage.

Another thing to remember is that after you have finished your degree you may not be able to walk straight in to a high paying graduate job. You may have to take a lower salary than you were expecting in order to build up experience. It is only with both experience and a degree that you will eventually get those higher paid management level jobs.

Many of my friends who are now in highly skilled professions didn’t go to university they forged their own careers going straight from school or college to gain hands on experience and work their way up the ranks so they got a three year head start on all us university students.

Employers are now more interested in your ability to do the job not what you have learnt in a classroom. I went to university and am proud of my university education but I don’t think there is a one size fits all policy when it comes to life after school or college. You need to research the industry you want to get in to and find the best route for you to get where you need to go regardless of whether that is on the job experience or class room learning.

Although people may laugh at McDonalds for now offering qualifications and study programmes for young people I think we need more big organisations like this giving vocational courses as I feel it will improve the speed in which school leavers find work in their chosen field and leave less people unemployed. For many years people have looked down at vocational courses but I think courses which mix learning and work place experience are the way to go and that universities could learn a lot from this approach instead of holding on to their old and tested methods.

We want to know what you think is more important experience or qualifications? You can share your views by joining in our discussion topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=342

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

University: Are students getting a fair deal?

Many University students here in the UK are this week enjoying Freshers Week or if they are a returning student are starting to make their way back to University for the start of term proper.

The questions that come up a lot in conversation for me when I am out and about talking to people are:

Will I be guaranteed to get a job after I leave University?

And

Do you I have to go to University to get the job I want or is getting experience in the workplace better than going to University?

It seems that these days schools and colleges are pushing University as the route to go to get a good income in later life and they are pushing it on all students regardless of their aspirations. Now I went to University and am proud of my University education but that doesn’t mean I think that everybody should go well at least go whilst Universities are in their current state.

With tuition fees rising each year to the point now that I look at them and think that if I was thinking about going to university today I just couldn’t afford it. Now I know you can put a price on a good education but when someone is paying for a service they expect the best value for their money something which I think Universities aren’t doing at the moment. The prices have gone up but the amount of graduates finding well paid jobs in their specialist areas hasn’t.

For me personally it took me two years after University to get a job in my specialism and if it hadn’t been for me filling out hundreds of application forms and not giving up I could have quite easily ended up working in an office job all my life. Universities need to do more to connect their students with jobs at the end of their degrees.

Going to University shouldn’t be about getting a grade on a piece of paper it should be about learning and experiencing the skills that you need to work in today’s environment. I personally would like educational establishments to work with people and companies from the industries in which they run courses in. I want them to work in partnership to devise courses and modules that will give students real skills that are applicable to today’s marketplace. I want industries and educational establishments to also work in partnership to offer work experience, work placements and jobs to graduates and under graduates in their educational establishments.

If we don’t want to see a continuing large amount of potential, talent and skills go to waste we need to act now. I think the government need to look at and address this issue. The more skilled people you can get in to the workplace the better this country is going to be. The quicker you can get people in to well paying jobs the quicker they will be able to pay back their student debt and contribute to the economy instead of being a burden to it.

University students don’t want to spend their lives in debt they want to contribute to this society and this economy we as a country and the government now needs to give them the chance to do so.

Universities need to stop being graded on the intellect and the grades of their students and alumni but on the number of their graduates that find skilled work in the areas in which they studied.

When I talk to people who are thinking of going to University I always advise them to speak to people who are in the industry they eventually want to work in first to see how they got in to that industry and if University is the best route. If you have decided University is for you then you need to research courses and University and find out about the modules and find out what past students on that course have gone on to do. Finally once they get to University I always advise them to get as much work experience in their chosen field as possible as with a University Education and a ton of experience you can’t go wrong.

Because of my views and the views of many others on the current University system we here at Talented Young People are petitioning the government to start taking this issue seriously and to do something about it.

You can sign our petition by going to:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/helpforstudents/

Or if you want to discuss this matter and air your opinions join in our topic of the week on Universities:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=234#234

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

Exam Results

Over the next two weeks millions of young people up and down the country will be getting their GCSE and A-Level results. Years of hard work finally come down to the opening of an envelope or a line on a results chart. Months of anxious waiting since they sat in that exam hall are about come to an end but the outcomes will be very different for many people.

The first thing you need is a plan and you need to have it ready before you go to collect your results. You need to know what opportunities are available to you for each possible outcome of results day. No matter how much you worry or stress before you get your results you can’t change the results on the papers. After you hand your exam paper in you can’t change the outcomes and any time spent stressing about them is a waste of time and can have a long-term affect on your health. Stressing about your results can only have a negative affect on how you deal with your results and your future after you get your results.

The thing to remember is whatever grade you get on that piece of paper it doesn’t change you as a person you are still the same person before you get your results and after you get your results, that piece of paper doesn’t define you and it isn’t going to change your life it’s what you do with that piece of paper that will. The only time you lose on exam results day is when you don’t do something positive about your results and with your results.

Exam results are just a stepping-stone on your continuing journey. You don’t study to get results you study and work hard to get where you need to go in life, to get that career to get that University placement. If you can achieve these things then your results don’t matter as it is the outcome we are worried about not the steps on the way.

If you have a successful results day celebrate, be proud of yourself and your achievements but don’t let it go to your head as like I say these results are only as good as what you do with them. Use the power of the achievement to achieve even greater things with your life. If you can harness that energy then you can achieve anything.

So if you are reading this before you collect your results remember to do your research and find out what opportunities are available to you for every outcome so regardless of what is written on that results page you have a plan and can not let a second go to waste. If your exam results aren’t what you needed them to be you need to be quick in trying to get in to colleges and Universities as if your grades aren’t what you needed to be and you leave it a while then your chances of getting in are going to be significantly reduced. Universities, Colleges and employers like people who can face up to their failures and take the bull by the horns.

If you are reading this after you have collected your results then what are you waiting for go and research your next move don’t let a second go to waste. The one thing to remember whatever you grades are there are always opportunities and possibilities open to you in order for you to move your life forward and closer to your dream.

Regardless of your results don’t give up. If you give up after one bad grade you are not going to be able to reach your full potential and achieve great things with your life.

If you want to talk about exam grades, how they are affecting you and what the future is going to hold then get involved in our topic of the week:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=170#170

Good luck to everyone collecting exam results from everyone here at Talented Young People.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/