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Covid generation puts university dream on hold as record numbers defer
Tens of thousands of A-level students waiting on results decide to take a gap year after spending months at home with parents
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The lockdown generation of teenagers is increasingly putting university on hold to prioritise their social lives, admissions figures suggest.
Tens of thousands of A-level students waiting to collect their results next week have decided to take a gap year after spending months of their teenage years stuck at home with parents.
Almost 73,000 UK 18-year-olds have applied to defer the start of their degree by a year, the highest number since 2010.
Britt Dewing, 19, from Norwich, who is coming to the end of a gap year, said taking a year out was popular among some of her cohort because they felt they had missed out on socialising and discovering what they enjoy outside of school because of Covid.
She said: “I think that because of Covid, a lot of people missed out on opportunities to do that normal kind of experimentation that they would have been doing like work experience, extracurricular activities, even just socialising.”
‘Better for mental health’
Some of her peers also felt that “gaining some experience in the real world” would be better for their mental health, she said.
The parent of an 18-year-old boy, who did not want to be named, said: “I would say around 70 per cent of my son’s friendship group have opted out of going to university this September. Most of them applied but decided against going, at least this year. Him included.”
She added: “I feel very much that this cohort is perhaps suffering from a level of burnout in terms of studying.”
Eighteen-year-olds did not end up sitting GCSEs because exams were scrapped during Covid. However, they are the first Covid cohort in England to face a return to pre-pandemic A-level grading.
Online lectures and boycotts
Some teenagers have “definitely” been put off hearing about the university experience of older students, who have faced online lectures and marking boycotts, the parent said.
She added: “What I’ve found in the year group above my son is, quite a few friends who’ve had a son and daughter start at university did not feel equipped and came back.”
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: “Many young people feel that the pandemic interrupted not just their schooling but their social lives as well – the natural experiences they would have benefited from by interacting with others.
“Some students in the 2023 cohort also feel they need a break from a hugely stressful few years in education – from missed exams and schooling to taking major exams for the first time. Who can blame them when so much seems to have gone against them in recent years?”
The university entry rate for UK 18-year-olds dropped last year for the first time in a decade, but remained above pre-pandemic levels.
‘Falling application rate’
Mark Corver, a former director of Ucas who now runs dataHE, said: “The number of UK 18-year-old applicants is down, with a falling application rate offsetting what would normally be a boost from a rising population… It is quite possible that we may see an unprecedented second year of a falling share of the population going to university.”
Prof Barnaby Lenon, former head of Harrow and chairman of the Independent Schools Council, said: “There are numerous reasons why young people might think twice about going to university this year. One is that their older friends have not always had a great time at university – shortage of accommodation, Covid lockdowns, dull online lectures, striking lecturers, work not being marked – all have had an impact.
“Another is that the message is getting out that a degree does not always result in higher lifetime earnings – but does always result in a big debt. Sometimes it is better to do an apprenticeship or get a job.”
He added: “Some students have had a very demanding time at school in the past three years due to Covid and they want to take a gap year. None of this year’s school leavers took GCSEs, so they may be wanting to see their A-level results before deciding which universities and which courses to opt for. That seems to me a very sensible response – university places will still be open to them next year.”
Planning a year abroad
Sam Willan, vice-president of marketing for the online travel agency StudentUniverse, said demand from UK teenagers planning a year abroad has increased, with bookings to Australia and New Zealand up 38 per cent year on year.
He said that traditional “gap-year” destinations in Asia, such as Thailand, have seen demand fall, as bookings rise for destinations including India, South Africa, Brazil and Peru.
He added: “Despite the cost-of-living crisis, travel remains a non-negotiable for the current cohort who see this opportunity as a way to help differentiate themselves for future careers.”