Private schools offer 'survival training' to tackle university drop-out rate

ARTHUR MACMILLAN EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT

SOME of Scotland's leading private schools are giving lessons in the basics of survival to help pupils cope at university.

Amid concern that some privately educated under-graduates struggle and even drop out because of the gulf between university and school, domestic science is back on the agenda.

From next year, all male pupils at Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh are to be taught domestic science so they can cook properly when they leave.

And, at nearby Fettes College, male and female pupils in the upper sixth form are to share facilities in a custom-built boarding house designed to resemble a student hall of residence.

Michael Spens, the rector of Fettes College - where boarders' fees peak at £21,000 a year - said: "When you remove a structured environment full of tests and deadlines where staff check up on you, some pupils fail to adjust.

"By giving them more independence in their last year and less formal assessment, pupils will have to decide for themselves how they complete their work on time. They will probably make mistakes, but they will be able to recover from them because the school system will highlight where they have gone wrong.

"We want pupils to learn these lessons now rather than at university, where the penalty can be much more harsh."

At Fettes, 98% of upper sixth-formers go on to higher education, but Spens estimates that between 10 and 15 pupils struggle or fail in their first year at university.

"In any given year, there are probably five or six ex-pupils who will change course or drop out," he said. "Another 10 will underperform because they have been used to a structure that helped make sure their work was up to scratch. That is not available at university.

"Even though most bounce back [after first year] we want to make sure they hit the ground running when they get to university."

Fettes's new boarding house, exclusively for final-year pupils, will closely resemble a student hall of residence. It will have laundry rooms where pupils can do their washing and there will be kitchen facilities for the 17-year-olds to cook their own food rather than go to the school canteen.

Andrew Hunter, the headmaster at Merchiston Castle - which is spending £7m on new en-suite, single study bedrooms for its older pupils - will reintroduce cooking classes when the accommodation block opens in 2007.

He said: "I want to make sure that every pupil can cook 10 proper meals before they leave this school. That is an extremely important skill for a young man to have as part of an enlightened curriculum. The new building will have the space for proper kitchens where domestic science can be taught in a structured course."

Merchiston already teaches its pupils how to manage their personal finances. It offers advice on everything from bank accounts to stakeholder pensions.

George Watson's College, also in Edinburgh, this year altered its final-year timetable to encourage greater independence before pupils headed off to university. Instead of having to register at school by 9am, pupils were allowed to turn up at their first class, which could be several hours later that day.

Gareth Edwards, the school principal, said: "As long as they attended their first class at the school that day we were happy.

"Overall, most pupils didn't treat this as a part-time venture and they improved their time management skills.

"We will repeat the scheme this year, because it is one way of bridging the gap between school and university."

David Clark, an assistant director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools, said: "These schools are trying to do their best for students, and if that helps them in their first year at university then these various measures are welcome."

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