If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Some of us came to the UK with the goal of going home after our courses. Some of us, however, wanted to give working abroad a go. But Her Majesty's Government has made it impossible with recent changes to the UK post-study work visa scheme.
This may deter those looking to live,travel or work in Spain. However, the truth is that there are a vast range of working and travelling opportunities through teaching English, and the Spanish population are determined to improve their prospects.
How can young people be real world literate and know what career they want if all they've ever known is the class room? Often they've never had contact with any industry professionals or set foot in an office, workshop or business environment.
The salient issues are simply supply and demand - are we supplying the right number of graduates for the labour market? And of appropriateness - are we producing the right kinds to meet the needs of the labour market?
By not having good results, it changed my life entirely by leaving me to make my own decisions to go where I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted. The freedom of doing what I wanted to do was a great spur.
On results day itself the UCAS system used by universities and colleges to process applicants experienced technical problems that meant those institutes weren't able to process decisions for over three hours.
I used to really like Lucy Mangan. I identified with her tales of a northern childhood and a slightly awkward and eccentric family. Someone even paid me the compliment once of saying that my blog made her wonder whether I was Lucy Mangan's distant cousin. Praise indeed.
Worry less about fiddling with the system and realise that improvement comes through hard work, doing the basics well and an ethos of ambition
Whilst working as a researcher and speechwriter in Parliament last year, a staffer from the Chinese Embassy asked me why the British media continually talked down students' achievements. I was shocked to find that the indignation we display towards young people in this country is reported around the world
I know that clearing can be a worrying time for students who don't get the A-level grades they were hoping for when they are published on Thursday - but my message is very clear: keep calm, and don't panic.
As the annual debacle over A-level results begins, it is clear that one outcome will be fewer students going on to study in UK universities this year.
I'd like to share six (rather harsh) choices I suggest your children consider, if they plan to enter Clearing. As George Clooney's character Chris Kelvin (the protagonist in the sci-fi movie Solaris) says: "There are no answers, only choices."
Britain's haul of gold medals in the Olympics has changed the nation's perceptions of our small island: we can emphatically be winners. Now is the time to celebrate Britain's success across more than just sport - our country, and London in particular, has quietly become one of the most amazing new hubs for digital, media and start-ups in the whole of Europe.
How many parents, teachers and academics have you heard dismissing social media as ridiculous or a waste of time?
An advert for an unpaid research post was taken down yesterday just 30 minutes after the University and College Union (UCU) released a statement condemning the practice of getting researchers to work for free. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=420773&c=1
The UK needs to be at the forefront of educating the global leaders of the future. We have some of the best universities in the world who need to be able to recruit the best and the brightest students. Sending out a signal that we don't want them here is hugely damaging.
