Education Panel: A Broken Social Contract | Full Panel Discussion at The Oxford Union

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Education ought to be the bedrock of progress across British society. However, increasingly we have seen a breakdown in the ability of education to prepare young people for the future that awaits them. In an age where the playing field is already uneven, we see vulnerable groups including low income students, care leavers, and disabled people left behind at record numbers. The mainstream rhetoric of ‘going to university’ has perpetually fed a narrative that the only route to success is via higher education, taking value away from apprenticeships and BTECs. Furthermore, the most vulnerable are disproportionately represented in the exclusion-to-prison pipeline. This reality has accelerated calls for wholescale reform to the education system for the purpose of ensuring equality for all, irrespective of circumstance, race or gender. This panel aims to shine a light on the status quo, to explore what the future should look like, and, crucially, to examine how we may get there.

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