Study reveals Britain’s education divide
More students leave school at 16 in Britain than in other industrialised nations – leading to a widening economic divide in the country, according to a new study.
In its annual international education league table, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) finds a widening social chasm in Britain between those with five good GCSEs and those without.
The government says the report shows vocational education must be improved to encourage more pupils to stay in education.
The OECD says Britons leaving school without basic skills face a tougher future in terms of earning potential than counterparts in any other country, except the US.
More than a third of people in the 25-64 year old group without five good GCSEs earn half or less than half the national average, it reports.
In contrast, those who go onto higher education in the UK get some of the highest financial returns for their qualifications in the world.
The OECD finds just 62 per cent of British men without five or more good GCSEs in work, 11 points down on the OECD average of 73 per cent.
For women without five good GCSEs, the figure is even lower at 47 per cent, compared with the average of 49 per cent.
The report also finds the UK lags behind the average for numbers entering university.
In the UK, many argue that the government’s target of getting 50 per cent of all young people into higher education is too high. But this is below the OECD average of 53 per cent.
Many countries have more than 60 per cent of young people entering university, including Australia, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Iceland, and New Zealand.
The government says that although fewer young people enter higher education in Britain, it has a very low drop out rate among students. The UK is seventh among OECD countries in terms of the percentage of young people completing degrees.
The study examines people aged between 25 and 34 with the equivalent of five GCSE C grades in each country.
Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD’s indicators and analysis division, perceived ‘stagnation’ in the British education system relative to other countries.
