It’s not just an excuse for us to post a glamorous picture of an Oscar nominated actress, because what she’s had to say on the subject of going to university makes complete sense.
Margot Robbie, the Australian actress and film producer, decided to give university a miss and go straight into acting. Here’s what she said recently:
“I decided I didn’t want to spend money I didn’t have, on a subject I didn’t want to do, only to be paying back debt for the rest of my life. Why abide by that invisible rule?”
The convention that school leavers should always aim to go onto university is one that deserves to be challenged. Why saddle yourself with debt to do something you don’t really want to do?
Prime Minister Theresa May has also waded into the argument, saying that reserving university for the middle class and vocational training “for other people’s children” is outdated.
It’s a view we wholeheartedly support, as many of our students are men and women who have been through university and then worked for several years in unrewarding jobs – before admitting that dreams are there to be followed and finally enrolling with us.
The fact is that academic further education isn’t for everyone and educationalists and careers advisors should better recognise that.
Because, as Margot Robbie says, why end up with a lifetime of debt and only qualified (maybe) to do something that you really don’t want to do?
