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Education Quandary

'My new school does nothing to help its sixth-formers when applying to university. We have no records of achievement, do no practice interviews, and get little help with our Ucas forms. Does it matter? And if so, how can I get it to change?'

With Hilary Wilce
Thursday 30 January 2003 01:00 GMT
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HILARY'S ADVICE

Universities always say that they try to see past any grooming that sixth-formers may have had, to the real candidate beyond, and that even in those parts of the system where pressure on places is most intense, a lot of polish isn't necessarily an advantage. Indeed, Robert Meech, chairman of the medical admissions committee for Bristol University, points out that it isn't always the most groomed pupils who are most at ease at interview. "They can be under a great deal of pressure, and the grooming can simply increase that pressure." As for those records of achievement, he says: "I don't honestly pay much attention to them at all."

But preparation is different from grooming, and a school that does as little as the one in question is not just not helping its students – it's sending them a powerful negative message about what it thinks of them and their aspirations. In contrast, schools that do more help to foster in their students determination and self-belief, which are great assets as they approach the application process.

Writing a good Ucas personal statement is the most crucial thing that any university applicant has to do, but it is really hard to put over the essence of yourself in a few hundred words, and most schools do give some guidance here. As for practice interviews – you only need to look at how much corporate high-fliers are willing to pay to be put through their paces, to know their value. Dress, body language, eye contact, and how to turn questions to your advantage are all learnable skills, and students who have acquired them will perform better than those who haven't. This isn't grooming, it's common sense. Likewise, having a record of achievement may not matter to the universities, but if it gives students a clearer sense of what they've done and who they are, then it must be helpful. And because schools are, by law, obliged to provide school-leavers with a record of their non-examined achievements, why not let them have it earlier, when they need it?

So, do what you can to make your school see sense. Talk to the head, or head of sixth form, explaining the help that your previous school gave. Or talk to other sixth-formers and get them to press for more help. If the school won't take it on board, you might have to get things moving by volunteering to do some of it yourself.

READERS' ADVICE

As a mature student, I got no help with my university application. I had to work out for myself where I wanted to go, what I was going to study, and how I was going to get there. But I think it would have been wrong if anyone had helped me. Doing it myself made me ask myself some hard questions about what I was doing, and because I wrote my own application, I think it was more "me" than it would have been if I'd had teachers breathing down my neck. Too much help is just spoon-feeding. If you are old enough to think about going to university, you ought to be able to set about it without needing adults to hold your hand.

Deborah Downer, Wolverhampton

My daughter went to a girls school where she was encouraged to think about university from the moment she started her A-levels. She had long talks about where she should apply for, and why, and when it came to doing her personal statement, there was a checklist of questions she was supposed to use to write it. It all seemed very fraught. My son did his A-levels at an FE college, and applied to university at the last minute. They both ended up at the same place – and got exactly the same degree.

Marie Chatman, Devon

Schools should use more parent and other volunteers to help. As a retired personnel officer, I have often helped students practising for job interviews, and know that many of them need to be told the most basic things, like how not to mutter, slouch, keep their hands in their pockets, or even swear. I use a video camera to show them what they look like, and they quickly change.

Irma Farrington, Reading

NEXT WEEK'S QUANDARY

Everyone in my part of London is battling to get their children into the local Church of England primary school, but I feel uneasy about what it involves. Is the hypocrisy of going to church to get a school place justified by the good start you are bagging for your children? Are church schools really so much better than others? And will our children miss out if they don't go?

Send your letters or quandaries to Hilary Wilce, to reach her by next Monday, 3 February, at 'The Independent', Education Desk, Second Floor, Independent House, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; or fax 020-7005 2143; or e-mail h.wilce@btinternet.com.

Please include details of your postal address. Readers whose letters are printed will receive a Berol Combi Pack containing a cartridge pen, handwriting pen and ink eraser

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