Last week, Ella spoke about a topic close to her heart (and mine too of course), so this Saturday I wanted to take the opportunity to speak about something that’s been playing on my mind for a long time. I remember babysitting at about the age of 14, being pretty bored in a house where the children had gone to bed and there was no TV to keep me entertained. With only my own company, I started to write a letter on a topic that I have forever been passionate about. I don’t know exactly who the letter was addressed to but I knew that in some capacity I wanted my opinion to be heard on this matter. So now, as editor of Her Campus, having taken Bethan’s advice to channel my inner Lillith, I am going to say exactly what I think … our education system in the UK is completely and utterly flawed. You might think I’m being melodramatic here but when you realise that we live in a country where our socio-economic background determines how good an education we get, I think you can begin to understand that something needs to change.
My fourteen-year-old self knew there were some serious discrepancies in our education system but I didn’t know the full picture. The reality is that 3.6 million children in the UK today live in poverty. Now I’m sure that number might not even be a surprise to some people because most of us are aware of the huge economic gap in our society. But what gets me is that this statistic effectively translates like this: 3.6 million children in the UK today will not receive a fair education nor the same opportunities as the rest of the children in the UK. Fact. Here is another fact: the odds against a child eligible for free school meals at a state secondary school being admitted to Oxbridge are 2000-1, for a privately educated child it’s 20-1. The stark reality is that what a child achieves at school (and therefore in later life) is determined by their family’s income. These facts are absurd. These facts are even more absurd when we consider that we live in supposedly one of the most developed countries in the world. How have we let our education system fall so far behind?
It is a recognised truth that the education and opportunities you receive at school determine your success later on. We are not all Richard Bransons here. For the majority of us, we need to leave school with at least C grades in the key GCSE subjects to help us get to where we want to be, whether that be a plumber, doctor, builder, lawyer etc. The fact that not all children are being supported enough in schools to achieve these grades means that effectively, our country is letting 3.6 million brilliant, varied and talented minds go to waste. Change needs to occur not simply because of the gross injustice in this but because we need these 3.6 million children to go on and be future leaders and workers for the next generation. Gagan and Natalie recently wrote passionate articles about the need for change within the NHS and it seems stupid to let 3.6 million individuals go to waste when they could be contributing to tackling crises like this.
However, movements for change do exist. Obviously, as Mabel so brilliantly expressed, we have high hopes for Corbyn’s educational policies and plans for the country. But in the mean time, there is something that can, and is making a difference: Teach First. Teach First is a charity with a simple mission: to end inequality in education. Teach First say that:Â
“Everyone can remember one incredible teacher that made a real difference to their life. We train and support committed individuals to become inspirational classroom leaders in low-income communities across England and Wales. These classroom leaders change lives. They help young people believe in themselves, and empower them to build a future they may not have believed possible.”
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(Photo credit: Teach First)
The way Teach First aim to tackle educational inequality is by taking graduates from universities, like Bristol, and enrolling them on the two year “Leadership Development Programme” where they will be teaching, getting paid and getting a PGCE qualification whilst all the time changing young children’s lives around the country. The idea is simple: to utilise the energy, intelligence and enthusiasm of top graduates around the country to make sure every single child receives all the opportunities to succeed in whichever route they chose for themselves. The BBC recognised the amazing work and success of the charity when they got involved with the popular TV programme “Tough Young Teachers” which showed the reality of how difficult, yet extremely rewarding the programme can be. When I found out about the charity, having been so passionate about these issues and injustices for a long time, I knew that this was something I wanted to do. So next year, when I graduate I will be embarking on a six week, intense training course before starting in a school in September to start my teaching career.
Teach First have made a massive impact already. Just one example is Max Haimendorf who was a 2003 Ambassador and became the youngest head teacher in the country of King Solomon Academy where 58 % of its GCSE pupils are eligible for free school meals and where 20 Teach First ambassadors are employed. In August 2014, the first cohort of pupils to sit GCSE exams celebrated fantastic results of 93% A* to C grades, including English and Maths- an incredible achievement which shows the changes that really can be made with Teach First’s help. I know it will be the most challenging thing I will ever do, but if I can just make a small dent of change to some children’s lives and impact the way our education system is run, then that’s enough for me.
I wanted to use this platform as a way to speak out to all of our HC readers and writers so that awareness can be raised about educational inequality and what Teach First are doing about it. If you want to find out more about the charity and why it is now number 4 in The Times top 100 graduate recruiters then come along to a presentation on the 29th October and find out about how you can help to restore our broken education system.
Ella and I wrote in our first editor’s letter that we wanted to encourage writers to be as passionate and opinionated as they wanted to be in articles this year and it’s safe to say we have had some amazing pieces so far. Freya wrote a brilliantly frank and poignant piece on mental health this week, whilst our resident sex blogger continued to provide us with a witty and refreshingly honest article on sexual liberation. I have certainly been inspired by these articles and felt it was time I wrote about something close to my heart too. If you’ve got something you’re burning to write about, or a response to any of our articles, please do get in touch at bristol@hercampus.com.
-Alex XO