Professor David Green, Vice Chancellor of the University of Worcester has predicted applications from UK students to start studies in 2012 will fall by 10 per cent. He based his forecast on more than 20 years’ involvement in university applications with nine of them spent as head of an institution.

His prediction comes ahead of the publication of Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)  figures that will show how many students have applied to start university this autumn when fees rise to £9,000 a year.

Professor Green predicts that there will be a decline of 70,000 UK applicants from UK born students by summer 2012 than there were in 2011, which is a ten per cent drop, The Guardian reports.

“This would be the biggest fall in the proportion of UK students since the 1970s,” Professor Green said”, the reasons for the expected drop in applications are multifold and include the fact that the maximum fee has almost trebled to £9,000.”

“Teenagers may have been deterred from applying by mistakenly thinking they may have to pay for their fees when they register at university,” continued Professor Green. “Students pay their fees with a student loan, which they start repaying when they graduate and earn more than £21,000. Some young people now wrongly thought their employment prospects would be enhanced by skipping university and starting paid work on leaving school”.

“There has been much talking up of apprenticeships and learning a trade when opportunities for both of these are limited, he explained. In the short-term, some young people who would have gone to university will end up on benefits, in the long-term; we will have a workforce that is less skilled.”

Coupling the decline in applications, universities are expected to restrict the amount of students applying for courses, with an estimated 140,000 expected to be rejected; 210,000 applicants got turned away last year. The Government also announced last week that the number of university places available in 2012 will be cut by 15,000, as well as funding for teaching in universities to be cut by 18 per cent.

The latest statistics from UCAS, released in January showed UK applications for this autumn had slumped by almost eight per cent with 283,680 people applying from within the UK, compared with 306,908 at the same point last year.

Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) reported in December 2011, ‘”We believe putting financial barriers in front of young people who have been told their entire lives to aim for university is nothing more than a policy of penalising ambition.”

In response to the earlier UCAS figures, David Willetts, Universities Minister, said: “the proportion of English school leavers applying to university today is greater than ever before, barring last year. Even with a small reduction in applications, this will still be a competitive year like any other as people continue to understand that university remains a good long-term investment in your future.”

For further information, why not take a look at one of our related articles:

• Late surge in university applications
• University applications fall by 15 per cent
• Universities slash 5,000 courses

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By Olivia Bamber

Recourse is a part of the TSN group of charities. We would like to attract people onto our National Council and Board of Trustees who can help lead the charity into the future. This year we are looking for people with the appetite to make a difference to the lives of people working in education and have interests which match our mission.

The TSN group’s mission has two elements to it; to offer crisis managment support to people in education – serving and retired; to research, develop policy and campaign for the improvement of the health and wellbeing of people working in education.

As a result TSN is looking for members with an interest in one or more of the following:

• the health and wellbeing issues that affect people in teaching and all staff in higher education
• issues affecting education staff in retirement
• the kinds of services TSN deliver – counselling, coaching or supporting people in difficulty
• the effective working of a Board of a charity

Are you interested in serving as a member and possibly a Trustee of this independent charity – Recourse, a part of the TSN group?

We are seeking applicants and nominations to our National Council for the period 2012-2014. If you are interested you can download further information on the roles and process and the nomination and application form below.

Please return the nomination form to: Teacher Support Network, F.A.O Katy Smith, 40A Drayton Park, London, N5 1EW

National Council nomination form_application form

Information on roles and process

Current schedule of TSN / Recourse areas

Finding a ten pound note in the pocket of your jeans, climbing into bed with freshly washed sheets and seeing an elderly couple holding hands are three of the 50 things that make us happiest, a poll from Three Barrels Brandy has revealed.

The study into happiness levels also showed that most people are the happiest on Saturday evenings, whilst Christmas Day has been described as the happiest day of the year, the Daily Express reports.

“We can be having a terrible day at work when a quick thank you from the boss can pick us up and make us feel great. Similarly, we could be stuck in traffic when our favourite song comes on the radio and makes us forget about the nightmare daily commute. Small gestures from friends and family can also work wonders when you’re feeling a bit down in the dumps,” a research Spokesman said.

A study of over 2,500 Americans has revealed that some people may be happier than others due to the influence of the 5-HTT gene, associated with the release of serotonin in the brain, dubbed the ‘Happiness Gene’.  Research has suggested that due to increased efficiency in distribution, people born with two long versions of the gene are more likely to feel ‘happy’ than those with two short versions.