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Great news about the A level results being up on last year for the 29th year running isn't it !!
BBC News - A-level passes rise amid university places pressure
The nation's kids are getting cleverer and cleverer each year aren't they , ever since the release of the Ford Sierra (no connection)
of course it's fuck all to do with the exams getting easier \ marking being rigged \ combination of the two is it.....
unbelievable
I've been saying this every time someone else in the family gets better results for their A levels than me!
It's all bollocks, kids are clearly worse than ever and yet somehow the results are getting better every year. It couldn't possibly be that the exams are just too predictable and that teachers pretty much know what is going to be in the test.
Stop pissing on their parade, be happy for them, especially you Miles, i keeps you lot in a job. :)
It doesn't hurt to tell the truth though. Clearly you need to do a bit of work to get an A, but it's absurd to say that standards are rising when in reality all they are doing is manipulating things. It isn't good for anyone to see 'standards falling' and so every year we are dished out the same old mantra. British schools are a mess and these yearly propaganda reports are just pointless. It's like the Soviet 5 year plans. The economy always seems to be improving, but life always seems to suck.Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
The cost of going to Uni is a lot and if I was around i would not have been able to afford it without the grant I was given. The system is set for the privileged now.
I was arguing this earlier with a friend and I agree. I am very angry about the idea that fees are 9 grand a year. Then you need to factor in lodgings and food etc. You could do it, but it means bank loans for the rest of your life. It seems like in every way the system is rigged for the banks to do well and for poor people to remain permanently poor or never given a chance. I would have balked if this was potentially my first year of university too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Master
And yet youth unemployment is well above 20%. You aren't even going to get a job if you have a degree. The whole thing is a sham and needs pulling apart. One big hoodlum fix going on.
Agreed a lot of the students that graduate have big debt and have to do jobs they do not want like being teachers because the government were short of them, now they end up knocking on peoples doors selling sky or gas/electric.
Personally I think the change in the system is an improvement, even though it can mean that some people will pay back more of their student loan than in previous years. For those who are doing degrees to take them into highly paid professions, then it will cost more, however for those who go into regular jobs will often not reach the threshold to start repayments, which is 21k. The current threshold was 15k, which is where my wages have just breached after six or seven years after university.
I think it is fair that those who earn more because of their education contribute more to paying for their education, rather than expecting the taxes of everyone to communally subsidise their studies.
I just think the university system is too vast and on the whole quite meaningless. Sociology, political science, media studies....in fact I believe whole swathes of academia to be largely pointless. A lot of the social sciences, though interesting, will get you nowhere in the real world. I went to university largely because my teachers were telling me that is what I needed for a good future and I never even used my degree for anything. It was only later on pursuing my MA which I paid for out of my own money that I studied something for any actual purpose. Youngsters really are being manipulated into a system that really doesn't pay back in any meaningful way.Quote:
Originally Posted by superheavyrhun
It is oftentimes a waste and it is far more expensive than back in my day. University on the whole doesn't give people skills that they need in a workplace environment unless it is a specific course with an obvious career trajectory in mind. I believe that it is one of the great cons. People should pay back what they borrow, but if you are from a poor family, you do need to pay back that overdraft on graduating and those loans will be there on your back and the size of these loans is becoming quite ridiculous.
I agree with some of your points, and disagree on others. There are a lot of courses out there that may not be practical for those who are just looking for a route to make money and a career, but I think the experience of University is very valuable, and even though I no longer make much use of what I learnt on the courses, I wouldn't change it, as the people I met from different races, regions and nations completely changed my world view.Quote:
Originally Posted by miles
I think the size of the loan is deceptive, because unless people actually get to a point where they are earning a good wage, they will never actually pay it back, and it still gets written off when people reach the age of 40.
My main gripe with university is the first year. The courses count towards nothing, so in effect it is a practice year and that is a year of your life. It was also the year I was most driven as afterwards I was working too much to study. What's the point in a practice year when it is all so expensive? That bugs me, university needn't be as long as it is. It is designed to bleed money out of you. 3 or 4 years on political science when that should be your full time thing? Medical school, sure you need to put the years in. But sociology and a practice year? It's a joke really.Quote:
Originally Posted by superheavyrhunI agree with some of your points, and disagree on others. There are a lot of courses out there that may not be practical for those who are just looking for a route to make money and a career, but I think the experience of University is very valuable, and even though I no longer make much use of what I learnt on the courses, I wouldn't change it, as the people I met from different races, regions and nations completely changed my world view.Quote:
Originally Posted by miles
I think the size of the loan is deceptive, because unless people actually get to a point where they are earning a good wage, they will never actually pay it back, and it still gets written off when people reach the age of 40.
True I learned more in one year doing my masters than i learned in 3 years doing the degree.
Got results today..that article is wank. ;D
The smiley at the end of your post suggests you did alright. Well done son!Quote:
Originally Posted by mattboxingfan
if people like you got into university then its a true sign the system is flawedQuote:
Originally Posted by Master
This was 1990-1994.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKOif people like you got into university then its a true sign the system is flawedQuote:
Originally Posted by Master
yes so its been flawed a while then
Shouldn't you be signing on today?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
no thats Tuesday mornings. Takes me ten minutes and gets me £70 a week.Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterShouldn't you be signing on today?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
Thats £420 an hour - beat that fucker
Oh dear perhaps you should have got an education, you still only get £70. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKOno thats Tuesday mornings. Takes me ten minutes and gets me £70 a week.Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterShouldn't you be signing on today?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark TKO
Thats £420 an hour - beat that fucker
I work ten minutes a week
you were there same years as me
I don't really disagree with anyone saying A Levels are getting easier. When I did mine I walked into my Law exam needing about 25% to get an A. It wasn't very hard at all.
I also don't understand why such a big deal is made of the pass rates. Yes it's all well and good boasting about a 97% pass rate or whatever it is, but it's pretty useless when an E is considered a pass. I don't know anyone that got an E and thought "Thank fuck for that, I passed." Most of the them panicked and started phoning any University that might take them and their shit grades. Like Sunderland Uni for example.