Students ‘have edge over UK’

Thursday 20th August 2009, 3:00PM BST.

Hautlieu students Tallie Renouf (18), Abby Luce (18) and Melissa Vitalini (18) with their results. Picture by Rob Currie (00769588)

ISLAND students faced an agonising wait for A-level results today in the knowledge that competition for university places is expected to be tougher than ever this year.

And if that was not daunting enough for this year’s sixth-form leavers, the job market is anything but healthy as firms in all sectors are being forced to cut back to weather the economic downturn.

However, Andy Gibbs, the head of careers and learning support at Careers Jersey, provided an upbeat message, telling students not to despair as opportunities still existed whatever route they wished to take.

And he stressed that Jersey university applicants had a real advantage this year, as further education places in the UK were being capped because of cutbacks.

As usual, Jersey candidates are expected to do better than the national average, which could mean a very encouraging crop of results. It has been reported that around a quarter of students will get A grades.

Read the full story in the Jersey Evening Post. Click here for subscription details. Individual editions are also available online.

1
James

August 20, 2009 at 6:57 pm

For once the JEP is not saying ‘Jersey is better than the UK for results’ and taking a more realistic viewpoint that it is doing ‘better than the UK average’.

To say Jersey is better than the UK always fails to take into account that there are huge disparities in the UK. Some areas out perform Jersey and some don’t. This tends to be due to demographics between poor and rich areas of the UK. From a London viewpoint, I doubt Jersey outperforms Kensington and Chelsea but I suspect it ourperforms Hackney.

Report abuse
2
Nick

August 21, 2009 at 5:55 am

James: I agree making inflammatory comparison statements with regard to education is a pointless and counter productive exercise.
In both the UK and in Jersey there is always a need to improve attitudes to education.
I personally do not believe encouraging an “Over competitive” environment helps at all in education.
Obviously in Sport and in life in general it is fun to test individual abilities against each other, but you cannot get away from the fact that it is elitist if too much importance is attached to victory in such circumstances. Undoubtedly those who are naturally gifted will shine over their peers, the important element is that they will achieve far less with that talent if isolated by their success from those people around them who are not as successful but may still have other qualities equally important.
Most major advances in our history have been achieved by team effort,albeit a team led by someone with an exceptional talent.If our educational system isolates that individual in a rarefied atmosphere from an early age surrounded only by those who are equivalently gifted, you are creating a wholly unreal environment around that person to their ultimate detriment.
You are also breeding whole generations of individuals who do not achieve their best performance in life because there is a loss of face when compared to their exceptional peers.
No wonder there are numerous examples in every generation of individuals who just burn out and give up!
Little wonder then there are whole Football Teams and Political Parties of “Gifted Individuals” who turn in less than adequate performance when really tested in adult life!

Report abuse
3
eric

August 21, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Scotland out performs anywhere in these islands,
But to say UK is silly, simply because Scotland has always had a seperate system from England & wales.

Report abuse
4
JULIE

August 22, 2009 at 7:54 am

It is great to see these youngsters achieving good results and hopefully moving on to university where they will gain good qualifications and a taste of life in the big bad world!I wish them lots of success and would tell them not to be put off by miserable people who will try to demoralise them by saying there will be no jobs etc etc at the end of it.
James (comment no 1) Well said!

Report abuse