Britain's Exam-Obsessed Schools Are Failing to Prepare Young People for Life and Work, Fueling the Neets Crisis
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/simonjenkins. "Britain’s schools are failing its young people – and 1m Neets are paying the price | Simon Jenkins | The Guardian." September 4, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
Simon Jenkins argues that British schools are badly out of touch with real life, spending too much time on exams and old-fashioned subjects while neglecting practical skills like confidence-building, financial literacy, and vocational training. He says this mismatch is a major reason why a growing number of young people—over a million—are stuck without jobs, education, or training, even though most of them want to work or study.
Conclusion
Britain's schools are fundamentally failing young people because they are obsessed with academic exams and outdated curricula while neglecting vocational training and practical life skills, and this failure is a primary driver of the growing crisis of young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (Neets).
Premises
- The number of Neets is rising fast, from one in eight of all 16- to 24-year-olds currently to a projected 1.25 million by 2030, despite 80% of them wanting to work, study or train
- A government survey found over 90% of employers believe the education system should offer more vocational pathways and that schools fail to teach personal motivation, teamwork and time management
- Schools are fixated on passing exams and measuring what can be quantified, even when this has little relevance to pupils' actual futures
- Self-confidence and communication skills (oracy) are critical for employment and life success, yet are virtually untaught because they cannot be measured in league tables
- Secondary school curriculums have remained essentially unchanged since the 19th century, despite radical educational thinkers like Steiner, Montessori and Dewey calling for more relevant approaches
- Schools fail to teach practical subjects like personal finance, law, citizenship, ethics, and public health that would better prepare students for adult life
- The merging of universities and technical colleges 30 years ago diminished vocational education pathways
Assumptions
- A causal link exists between educational content/methods and the Neets phenomenon, rather than Neets being primarily driven by economic, family, or health factors
- Vocational and practical life-skills training would be more effective at reducing Neet numbers than current academic curricula
- Schools have the capacity and resources to fundamentally overhaul curricula to include unmeasurable skills like confidence and oracy
- Employers' stated preferences accurately reflect what would genuinely help young people succeed, rather than reflecting employers' own convenience
- The rise in mental health issues and special educational needs among young people is connected to or exacerbated by school failures rather than being an independent societal trend
- Curriculum change is more impactful than addressing labor market conditions (e.g., zero-hours contracts, job security) in solving the Neets crisis