WASPI - Women Against State Pension Inequality

missbiggles1

Mr_Costcutter wrote: »

My wife reports the same. She also attended a girls' grammar school and statistics from that school show that only 8% actually progressed to university. This would have been in 1974.

I don't believe that - do you have a link to the information?

BucksLady

Mr_Costcutter wrote: »

My wife reports the same. She also attended a girls' grammar school and statistics from that school show that only 8% actually progressed to university. This would have been in 1974.

Welcome to MSE and thank you for posting

Mr_Costcutter

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I don't believe that - do you have a link to the information?

I'm sorry you didn't believe me, but it's absolutely true.

My wife graduated from the girls' grammar school in July 1974. In the November following, a prize giving was held for all those who had graduated. My wife still has the booklet given to her at this time, and which states the name of each girl and where they were studying or working. For example :

Mary Price - Oxford University (law)
Jane Hall - Civil Service

From this list I was then able to ascertain the % of girls who had proceeded to university.

The grammar school was situated in Kent and in what might have been considered a fairly affluent area.

Bogof_Babe

Don't forget that in those days a lot of school leavers, even those with good A Levels, went to Teacher Training College, or went into nursing, neither of which were considered degree courses then.

A quick look on Friends Reunited tells me that although many of my contemporaries did well in their careers, not so many would have done it via traditional University routes.

missbiggles1

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Don't forget that in those days a lot of school leavers, even those with good A Levels, went to Teacher Training College, or went into nursing, neither of which were considered degree courses then.

A quick look on Friends Reunited tells me that although many of my contemporaries did well in their careers, not so many would have done it via traditional University routes.

I do appreciate that but only 8% of a grammar school's leavers going to university in the mid 70s seems very unlikely, particularly in an affluent area.

Given that 14% of the population went to university at that time and grammar schools took the ablest 25%, a grammar school that only got 8% of its pupils into university would've been seen to have failed in its remit.

BucksLady

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Given that 14% of the population went to university at that time and grammar schools took the ablest 25%, a grammar school that only got 8% of its pupils into university would've been seen to have failed in its remit.

Could you please give a link to show that 14% of the population went to uni at this time. It would be interesting to see.

My mother went to grammar school around the same time and says about 10% of her class went on to uni. The majority went into the teaching/nursing professions or worked as secretaries. Her grammar school was situated in Bucks - another affluent area

Bogof_Babe

Also, the factor that decided your secondary education was the 11 Plus exam, and the outcome of this resulted in selection between grammar or secondary modern school. Thus all 11+ passers were filtered into the grammar schools, simply because they were too clever for the alternative, but this did not mean they had the aptitude for higher education, nor indeed the desire.

MoneyWorry

Hopefully as my illustration shows it is possible to be born in the 1950's or 1960's, not go to grammar school or university, have low paid jobs and not only accrue a state pension but obtain a small occupational one as well. It's not easy and sometimes it really hurts as you can't have things you want or sometimes need whilst working.

ManofLeisure_2

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I do appreciate that but only 8% of a grammar school's leavers going to university in the mid 70s seems very unlikely, particularly in an affluent area.

Given that 14% of the population went to university at that time and grammar schools took the ablest 25%, a grammar school that only got 8% of its pupils into university would've been seen to have failed in its remit.

I certainly wouldn't dispute a figure of 8% for a girls' grammar school.
14% of the population may have attended university at this time, but this figure would represent both male and female candidates.

magpiecottage

Women might not have been informed personally when their State Pension Age increased - but neither were men when theirs increased.

So there does not seem to be an inequality there - and the State Pension Age has now become the same for men and women.

Finding out later that you will not get your pension as soon as you were originally told might be a sting in the tail but there is no inequality in the treatment of women.