The Head of Sixth Form at Wellington College Fleur Moore-Bridger on why we need to encourage students to expand horizons and recognise that options are never fixed
‘I decided I wanted to study economics in prep school, but now I’ve actually started doing it for A level, I don’t like it!’. The Lower 6th boy sits opposite me in my office. He is clearly devastated. His entire life plan, which he created at least three years ago, has just come tumbling down because, in his mind, it all hinged on this one specific degree path.
His plan was to study Politics, Maths, Further Maths and Economics. He would get 4 As, maybe an A*, he would study Economics at LSE. He would go do an MBA at Harvard, he would get a job in the City, maybe at EY or Bloomberg. He would soon rise up through the ranks and live happily ever after.
For this student, and many others I speak to, any deviation from their imagined path is an immediate black mark against them, a failure. But how many of us adults became what we hoped to be at 16 or even at 21? How many of us thought we had it all figured out, and later struggled to come to terms with the changing nature of our reality?
A common photo taken by parents on their child’s first day of school shows the child holding up a sign saying: What do I want to be when I grow up? But are we asking that question too early, putting too much weight on knowing what or who we want to be from a young age? In an education system where we start specialising from a very early age, how do we encourage our students to think bigger, to expand their horizons? And how do we help them become more resilient and open to changes and fluctuations in pathways?
The perception that there are certain courses, certain universities, which are vital to success, and that other routes are not as good, is not an unusual one for young people. When I told this boy that he could, in fact, still study History, which he loved, enjoy his time at university, and get a good job later, the joy on his face was instant. This permission to be himself, to do what he loved, and not have to give up other goals was all that he needed. Since then, I have spent many hours, as Head of Sixth Form, trying to work out how to get this same message out to all students – and get them to believe me.
At Wellington, we have a strong sense of tradition, and certain universities which traditionally Wellingtonians have attended. But I am so happy to hear students are looking to explore beyond that tradition, and beyond the expected. More than anything, I’m happy to know they are OK with not knowing what route they want their life to take.
The Russell Group unis remain the goal of many students, but we are now seeing those who are more willing to look beyond them – some to international universities. This year we have more students than ever before attending US universities. Interest is also growing for European and Canadian universities, and others in Australia and the Far East. The rise of degree apprenticeships is also a route which provides many exciting opportunities for young people now, with organisations such as Dyson, PwC, and Greene King offering corporate-funded degrees.
“How can we encourage our students to expand their horizons – and be open to changes and fluctuations in pathways?”
The ‘squiggly’ career – as described by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis in their 2020 book of the same name – is becoming much more common, and students and parents need to become aware of this new reality. As educators and supporters of young people the most important thing we can do is to remind them that life is long, and sometimes hard. We need to encourage our young people to not grow up too fast. They should also know that it is OK to choose a subject or a degree or a university which is perhaps unexpected, as long as it is what makes them happy. This choice they make need not be forever.
Several law firms encourage students to choose a degree with transferrable skills over a law degree, due to the success of the conversion course. While finance and economics are on the list of most common degree courses for current CEOs, political science, liberal arts and computer science are all on that list too. It is the transferrable skills and – let’s face it – the good results, that most employers care about. So why wouldn’t we be allowing that flexibility and encouraging students to do what they love for another three of four years.
We should also remind them that it is fine to not know what they want to be when they grow up. The period after leaving school can be among the most terrifying and overwhelming – but also among the most fun and exhilarating times in life. We should all remind our students of that, and not push them to map out a path for their whole future life just yet. In the words of Ernest Hemmingway “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end”.
Wellington College wellingtoncollege.org.uk
Further reading: Reed’s School on empowering sixth formers
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