Grammar school head questions value of university

9:32am Saturday 5th July 2008

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Boys at Ermysted's Grammar School, Skipton, could be better off at the University of Life rather than university, said the school's headmaster this week.

At the leading state school's speech day, Tom Ashworth talked of the massive debts owed by graduates and the diminution of university courses.

�Students need to think very carefully as to whether university is for them and, if so, what is the appropriateness and value of their course. I suggest that some may be better joining the University of Life and getting a job � which at least costs them nothing.�

Tom Ashworth

"The younger generation are on their way to making our country the most heavily indebted ever," he said.

"The vast sums many of the under-30s owe are due to the costs of a degree that none of their predecessors had and, by the time they graduate, many students face debts of around £30,000 before they start on their next job."

Mr Ashworth, who is due to retire at the end of term, said at Tuesday's event that although it was encouraging to see the introduction of tuition fees had not led to diminishing university applications, there had been a diminution in courses.

"It is distressing that many of the courses on offer are of little value," he said.

"Students need to think very carefully as to whether university is for them and, if so, what is the appropriateness and value of their course. I suggest that some may be better joining the University of Life and getting a job - which at least costs them nothing."

Mr Ashworth also talked of the emergence of vocational diplomas and the impact on the future of A Levels and GCSEs.

"In a noble attempt to evaluate the aspirations of those who traditionally have been left behind, the Government has undermined the status of true academic achievement," he said.

And he added that the diplomas had been greeted with disdain by independent and leading state schools.

"I fear the Government is in danger of presiding over a system in which better state and private schools offer A Levels or their equivalents and send pupils to proper universities, whilst the rest do diplomas."

Ermysted's regularly features in the top ten state schools in the country and Mr Ashworth said it had been another positive year for the school. There had been a lot of work carried out, including the completion of a new refectory and the conversion of the former sixth form common room into a new IT suite and classrooms.

A new mentoring scheme for GCSE pupils helped 96 per cent of them to achieve grade A* to C in seven or more subjects, while four pupils achieved the top five marks in specific subjects.

At A Level, Mr Ashworth said almost three quarters of grades achieved were A or B with all students, apart from one, getting three A Level passes.

"New secondary league tables show that students at Ermysted's achieved greater success than every other school in the region and beat the majority of Yorkshire's private schools," he said.

Mr Ashworth also paid tribute to the school's sporting stars, including last year's senior rugby squad and winners of the Daily Mail U18 Vase Competition.

Mr Ashworth said: "After 10 years in the post, the end of August will see my tenure as headmaster of Erymsted's Grammar School come to an end.

"During this time, I have benefited from the advice and assistance of a hard-working governing body.

"As a school, we are extremely fortunate to have graduate staff of real quality and expertise across the board in all subjects and also have the ability to attract staff of a similar standing. This, together with an able intake and a stability in staffing matters, must surely be a major strength, not only in Ermysted's, but in fact, for any school."

Chief guest at the speech day was former pupil Dr Andrew Hilton. Dr Hilton, who boarded at the school from 1958 to 1965, is director of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, a non-profit think tank that looks at the future of the financial situation.