School leavers weigh up rising costs of university education

Course fees and the prospect of graduating with debts are leading to school leavers in Newport “carefully considering” whether university is right for them.

A city council committee heard how officers are visiting Newport’s sixth-formers to make sure they are aware of all the options available to them when they finish their studies, including apprenticeships and employment.

But funding for more vocational training is being stretched at a time when the city’s youth population is growing rapidly, assistant head of education Rebecca Sims warned.

She told councillors the size of Newport’s Year 11 cohort increased by 13% in the past year.

“Newport is a very fast growing city – this has happened at the same time that national funding to the two main contract holders for training providers in our region has been reducing, so we’re trying to meet increasing demand with resources which are being more stretched over time,” she explained.

Ms Sims said 3.8% of Newport’s Year 13 cohort – who would be aged around 18 – were not in education, employment or training (NEET), which placed the city 13th of Wales’ 22 council areas.

“Within Year 13, learners have a broad range of options open to them in terms of their next steps and destinations, and we do see a number of people carefully considering whether higher education is the right option for them,” she told the committee.

“One of the factors in their decision-making would be around costs of accessing a higher education placement, and potentially the amount of debt that learners may take away with them after they’ve completed a university placement.”

The officer said the council would “support learners to think about their broadest options at Year 13”, including work in secondary schools, where the council is organising sixth-form assemblies alongside “business in the community partners, to ensure Year 13s are very well informed of their options”.

Another potential route for school leavers is a workplace apprenticeship, “which could lead to a degree qualification, but may be partly or fully funded by the Welsh Government or an employer”, she added.

Sarah Morgan, the council’s head of education, added the outcomes for NEET young people in the Year 11 cohort – aged around 16 – fell last year from historically strong levels, prompting the council to look again at how it was working with partners, such as local colleges and training providers.

“I am really pleased to report today that this year the figures are significantly different and they’ve improved, and we’ve gone right back up to fifth place [in Wales],” she said.

“We hope to secure our trajectory by reflecting on some of the good working practices we’ve re-established.”