Supporting the next generation’s careers and education choices, parental contributions, and a ‘super-university’
😊 Welcome
I came across a few interesting things this week which I’d like to share with you all.
First-up, some thoughts on how this generation needs different support and advice from their parents compared to previous generations.
Secondly, a reminder from Martin Lewis about the realities of student finance.
And thirdly, the creation of the country’s first so-called ‘super-university’.
🫶 Supporting University Students: Why This Generation Needs Different Advice
I’d never come across the Successful Student Transitions blog by Louise Wiles before, but it’s worth a look. In particular, the most recent blog summarises a discussion she had with Jillian Reilly, who is launching a new book this month (called The Ten Permissions).
The blog is all about changing outdated perceptions of careers and education, and provides clear, actionable advice for parents (and teachers) on how to support their sons and daughters as they get to school-leaving age.
You can read it here:
Supporting University Students: Why This Generation Needs Different Advice
💷 Five things you need to know about student finance 2025/26
We all know about Martin Lewis, the occasionally irritating voice of reason on all money matters. Well he’s back talking about student finance, and if you are looking for a reminder about how it all works, look no further.
Of particular interest is section 2 about what he calls the implied parental contribution. Lots of parents I know don’t seem to know how much money they should be giving their sons and daughters, and so take the convenient route of paying for accommodation or similar. Martin Lewis outlines not only exactly what is implied in the funding arrangements, but also why it is problematic.
It’s essential reading for anyone advising or supporting students:
Five things you need to know about student finance 2025/26
🎓 The UK’s first ‘super-university’
OK, so ‘super-university’ is a daft name for it, but this week saw the announcement of a merger between the University of Kent and the University of Greenwich. Unlike other mergers, however, each of the partners will retain its own identity, and its own degrees.
With most other mergers of this nature, there was a clear senior partner absorbing the other (e.g. The University of Manchester and UMIST, The University of Edinburgh and Moray House College, City University and St Georges Medical School). The result? A single, larger university, with pretty much the same identity as the larger university had all along.
In this case, however, the older, arguably more prestigious university (Kent), is smaller, and less financially secure. Meanwhile the supposedly less prestigious of the two (Greenwich), is larger, and more financially secure.
It’s an uncomfortable mix for a merger, but real savings can potentially be made by joining many aspects of their management and administration, and the services they run. And together they will be better equipped to weather the current (and future) financial storms.
It will be very interesting to see how this all turns out a few years down the line. I am fairly optimistic that the model is one that could work in many similar scenarios across the country, so I wish them every success. But for now, there will be a lot of uncertainty, not just for the students heading off to study at these universities, but also for the staff working there who now face a very uncertain future.
Read more at:
UK's first 'super-university' to be created as two merge from 2026
That’s all for this week!
Jonathan
