This article was taken from the January issue of Wired UK magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
It could be argued that, by the age of 16, there are three distinct groups of young people. The first group are those who are very well settled at school and are highly motivated.
They have experienced a considerable degree of academic success and often have a clear idea of what academic subjects they are good at and interested in pursuing further, typically at 'A' level. A swathe of middle achievers are moderately successful in some areas of study and moderately motivated. They have experienced some success. The third group, estimated to be around five to ten per cent of students, comprises the minority who have little motivation towards academic-style learning. They have probably experienced failure.
There are several possible reasons why young people might fall into this category. Some do not have any natural aptitude for academic study. Others may have unsettling or distracting influences outside school, leading to poor performance in a highly institutional academic learning environment. Such children can be disruptive in class and thereby take up a disproportionate amount of teachers' time and energy.
Our proposal is to get the best out of those failing in the current system by introducing an alternative style of educational provision from age 16. There would be two options. Option one would be to defer up to two years of school-based education to a time when the individuals are motivated to pursue such learning.
Option two would be to undertake two years of a new style of vocational style training and development incentivised through the introduction of a Personal Innovation Fund. This money, envisaged to be between £10,000 and £20,000, would allow young people to align their efforts behind an innovative business initiative. The scheme would be state run with part private financing. The new approach will develop a greater entrepreneurial culture in the UK and allow current academic under-achievers a greater chance of personal success and increase their contribution to UK society.
*Gavin is a Director in Arup's London office.
Originally trained as a mathematician, but now a practicing engineer, Gavin's interests lie in design, research and innovation.*
Read other articles from the Rebooting Britain series - Tax people back into the cities - Teach kids to see in four dimensions - Exercise a green foreign policy - Open democracy to the online masses - Reinvent the way we live together - Live life as a lottery - Pull the plug on broadcast regulation - Enact beta versions of new laws - Make carbon emissions hurt - Slash the universities and go virtual - Make policy using prediction markets - Transform cities into green jungles - Promote another crash - Ditch Twitter: it's dangerous for democracy - Encourage failure - Set government data (radically) free
Want more Wired UK magazine? Get your copy every month by subscribing online today
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
