Degree apprenticeships give aspirational school-leavers the chance to “earn while they learn”. But are they worth considering as an alternative to other higher education options" Katie Hughes finds out
This autumn, hundreds of recent school-leavers will start their university lives free from the millstone of student debt. As ?degree apprentices?, they will study for fee-free bachelor?s or master?s degrees while being paid a salary and getting ?on-the-job? experience from blue-chip employers like Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Barclays and Jaguar Land Rover. And all being well, they will be offered permanent job contracts once they have finished their studies.
Degree apprenticeships are only a recent addition to the higher education offering, but they are creating a stir. Barnaby Lenon, Chair of the Independent Schools Council isn?t the only one who thinks ?schools need to keep an eye? on them ?as an alternative to the traditional route into higher education?. A higher education revolution"
One independent school keeping a very close eye on degree apprenticeships is Wellington College in Berkshire, which held the UK?s first conference dedicated to the scheme last year ? it?s now to become an annual event at the school.
Julian Thomas, Master of Wellington College, sees the new apprenticeships as a significant third option for aspirational school-leavers, who have long been limited to the binary choice between traditional degree or workplace.
Thomas thinks that the...