ATL

Spoonfed students 'not prepared for university'

11 May 2011

Many undergraduates are beginning degree courses without the key skills necessary for university life, it has been suggested.

Research carried out by the University of Cambridge's exam board revealed that 94 per cent of first-year degree students feel they could have been better prepared.

Half of those surveyed said they lacked the necessary independent study and research skills when they arrived at university.

More than a third of students said their sixth form colleges did not provide them with adequate essay-writing skills.

A further 31 per cent of respondents feel they could have benefited from more in-depth study of subjects earlier on in their education.

Half of those questioned said university is a big leap from college, with one in nine saying they feel out of their depth.

Jack Bradley, a former A-level student who is studying history, commented: "Although the subjects I took for A level were ones that I've always been interested in, the structure of the course limited, rather than encouraged, my own enthusiasms and lines of thoughts. Right from the start, I was studying more exam technique than history or literature."

The undergraduate student added that he would have appreciated being on a course that gave him the freedom to think and research more independently.

"This type of study is totally unrealistic preparation for university, and is the reason that university tutors have to spend the first few months of a course 'acclimatising' students to a new way of learning," Mr Bradley added.

Ann Puntis, Chief Executive of the board, said that with so much speculation about how best to prepare young people for university, it is "telling" that many admit to failing to master important study skills during their time at secondary school and college.