Thursday, August 13, 2015

England Travel: "Adjustment" and "Clearing"

Today English students received their A-level results at 9am. These are equivalent to grade 12 marks, but represent only 3-4 exams written by students after 2 years of study. Students have the option at the start of those 2 years to what subjects they want to study and exam in (maths, French, Physics, Art, Chemistry, etc.) Many kids leave school here in England at only 16 to join the labour market or go into an apprenticeship.

 If you choose to go on to do your A-levels, you are either going to go on to the university and program you chose, or you are amongst those eligible for "Adjustment", which is for students who get higher grades than they expected, allowing them to apply to a university they wouldn't have considered otherwise (like Oxford or Cambridge). "Clearing" as I understand it, is for students who haven't made the grades they expected, and so won't be eligible for the place they had tentatively secured on the basis of their prior exam results. "Clearing" is also a national organization that matches students based on their exam results with 'empty' spaces in university courses. Today is the single busiest day for students to go through the 'Clearing' process and get a university spot. Sounds a bit euphemistic doesn't it? Also slightly like a dystonic teen novel...

Tuition is charged now in the UK, but it is regulated similarly to Canada, and prices seem comparable. Tuition was free when I attended school in the UK, but due to that limited spaces were available.

Can you imagine this alternative system?

One of the things I value most about Canada is the accessibility of university education to all. Not so easy now that prices for Canadian university tuition are going through the ceiling, something I wish we would change. Equally, I wish Canadian students had the option of leaving school at 16 to start an apprenticeship - a degree isn't for everyone, and we need carpenters, plumbers, etc. much more than we need physicists.

I'm sure there are some London Students in this pic...

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