Sunday 25 January 2015

Why should we send our brightest across the border?


 If you ever wanted a example of the lack of ambition from Government and our media you only  have to look at Wales online recently.

Under the Banner 


Lord Adonis: 'We need to see more Welsh kids getting into Oxford and Cambridge


It starts with the cringing


Lord Adonis is a man on a mission.
The Labour grandee has bold plans to help Welsh school kids from poorer backgrounds get into top universities.
Most politicians put their feet up when they “retire” but the sprightly 51-year-old is far from slowing down.
Sprightly 51 year old! That's hardly  the age the rest of us end our working days .

it goes on 
That is why Lord Adonis was in Newport to deliver a keynote speech at the University of South Wales to teachers from across the country.
Though currently shadow minister for infrastructure he is shooting up and down the country to talk about his other great passion: education.
The Labour grandee, who served in government under Tony Blair, said he wants to see more of the “Oxbridge hubs” set up by Welsh education minister Huw Lewis.
Former education minister Lord Adonis said:
 “The more of that the better. I’m very glad the Welsh Government are taking this initiative.
“Anything that encourages able students to aspire to top universities is a good thing because too many are put off essentially by myths, by the belief that universities aren’t for them.
“Anything that breaks those myths will overcome what is essentially a mental barrier more than an academic barrier in terms of their capacity.”
What other Nation would aim to send its Brightest to another Nation and Education System?  What we need to do is break the myth of Oxbridge   and build a University System to equal or surpass them.

Would there  be a campaign in Scotland to send pupils  to Oxbridge rather than the likes of Aberdeen,St Andrews or Edinburgh?



Lord d Adonis also warned that Welsh state school pupils who want to go Oxford or Cambridge need to do a lot of the research themselves compared to the spoon-feeding of advice they would receive in the private sector.
He said bright state school pupils should go out and find graduates from the top universities in their area and seek advice from them.

This is the attitude in Wales send your Brightest to Oxbridge collages where they may not return instead of building Institutions that can take and develop them  home and ensure  that they can find work here and contribute to the building of a Nation. 


The  Byline is given to James Rothwell who Wales Online say is a Daily Telegraph trainee reporter on placement as a general reporter at WalesOnline. on this I suggest they send him back.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good point. What other nation's universities have a detrimental effect on its national life? Thousands of English students taught by hundreds of English academics.

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