A Difficult Decision on Education

[Nicholls]

Hi, I'm 16 years old and in my last year of GCSEs (year 11, also called 0-levels, the final year of compulsory school in Britain). Although I've found school ok throughout my life I have recently begun to feel (and this has become stronger in recent weeks) that the British Education System is not really the ideal place for me to be.

Firstly, it's not my school. I think my school is one of the better examples in my area, most of the people are nice, I get reasonably good grades (and exceptional ones if I try), I don't get bullied etc. The truth is that most of the time I am there I either feel stifled (as if I'm not fulfilling my potential/I could be spending these years better) or miserable (when I go through depressive episodes - and yes I have had one episode of major depressive disorder). I'd be willing to bet that whatever school I was at under the jurisdiction of the British Education System (even though my school is private) I would still feel this way.

Now here is the decision. Summer of '08 I have to take my GCSEs. For my year I'm pretty intelligent, I regularly rank in the top 20 in the mid-term or end of year exams and if I really put the effort in I can make the top 10. Therefore if I put my heart and soul into revision there is no doubt I'm capable of achieving fantastic results for my O-levels. Even if I didn't I could probably still qualify for A-levels at my school. I could then probably go for a red-brick university (for those outside the UK it's the band under Oxbridge) or even Oxford or Cambridge to read History or English. There's no question in my mind that I'm capable of going to the top.

You might be thinking, it's an easy decision. However as I was saying more and more I keep thinking that I could be doing something else. I'm aware most people say that the GCSE year is hard motivationally because you spend most of the time covering old ground and going through revision topics in preparation for the exams. I also know that next year if I do my A-levels there will be a greater focus on subjects I find interesting and I can finally drop the ones I hate. This would probably suit me better then the current lessons.

However I'm not sure even this would change my opinion. I find the British Education System has an unhealthy obsession with exam results and qualifications - and this is something I disagree with.

If I left school you might wonder what I would do. I currently own a website which I do as a side project. I don't really get to spend as much time on this as I would like to and if I left school early I would doubtless make this my main project and develop it into a fully fledged commercial website (much like gamespot and ign which are professional video game websites). I have no doubt that given the proper amount of time I could develop it and overtake Gamespot (which is the most successful video game website in the world at the moment).

The truth is that whether or not I do A levels and go to University I will follow my original plan of developing my website. I don't think I would need any formal training to do this, I've already learnt HTML and CSS by my self and so I expect I could develop the rest of the website by just learning from books. The question is, when do I leave the British Education System and make my own way in the world?

Thanks to anyone who has read this all the way through, I'd appreciate anyone's advice on this, especially those that left school at a young age and started their own business.

[Brutha]

You shound't underrate the value of education. Sure there are also people who get there education outside of school, but anyway getting an education is benifitial.

[mustard76]

Remember that a formal education will open more doors for you in the future than you realize now.

Without a formal education many doors will be closed to you. It's not because you couldn't succeed at those opportunities. It's because the people who are the gatekeepers to those opportunities will not value your "street" education. They are looking for people who graduated from college.

For me as an entrepreneur the best contacts I have in my network are my college friends or people I met through my college friends. If you can get into a good university, the people you meet will be motivated and high-achieving. They will open doors for you.

One of the most important skills for an entrepreneur is networking. When you are in school you have more opportunities for networking than any other time in your life. If I were you, I would use my time in university to perfect my networking skills and build out my network.

Also, use your time in university to figure out what you are passionate about. University is about more than just classes. There are plenty of clubs you can join to meet people and learn about your interests. Just make sure you go to the right university for you. And understand that the "right" university will offer the academic _and_ social experience you are looking for.

I hope this helps.

[Nicholls]

That does help a lot actually. Much appreciated.

[Honeywith4bees]

In the British Educational System would you be allowed to take time off between your O and A levels?
I ask this because my boyfriend, who is a successful business owner, took time off after his first year of college. He went back after only a year off with a whole new perspective on the experience and a real feeling for why he wanted to be there and what exactly he hoped to accomplish.

Good luck!