How boring are those curling stones matches at the winter olympic ?

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Yes. What used to be known as 'pull the ladder up'......

I dont think it is envy. It was the accepted route to success because it is what the well to do did. 'Getting to university' was seen as the goal. It meant you had arrived. Achieved something.

And in the old days, you had. Because entry requirements were set high to manage demand, not to ensure students were able. Meeting those requirements meant something.

But what happens when everyone else arrives at the same time? The advantage is gone. You're now 30 grand in debt.....

I've always wondered why airlines dont create a worse product than economy. As soon as economy is an upgrade on something, it looks more attractive....

We used to make the division at 11 with grammar schools. But neither left nor right liked them, despite them getting both my parents out of poverty and into middle class occupations. The Tories didn't like that their little Timmykins went to Secondary modern while the oiks got into grammar schools, while the teaching unions hated them because they all wanted to teach the bright kids.

So now we make the division at 18, and charge them 30 grand.

[Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult]

Sounds like you've been had, successfully distracted from the pursuit of the important things in life; making some money, finding your girl, raising a family. Your kin become the living embodiment of your "workings"; the world can actually observe them so you don't feel the need to have to explain yourself all the time.

It was so different when we all lived communally - whether in squats or on a traveller site. That was your family. You could still find your beloved, and if you wanted, have kids. Money was less important.

[redgunamo]

It was about 10% when I went to uni in '89. And it was socially mixed. Lots of working class Scousers etc at the LSE when I was there.

Not sure that's what socially-mixed means, even at LSE

[Peter]

It was about 10% when I went to uni in '89. And it was socially mixed. Lots of working class Scousers etc at the LSE when I was there.

A real cross-section of the nation

Yes, there would be. It didn't actuvely exclude working class kids. But the higher you fix the entry point, the more likely it is that you will end up sourcing students from better schools. And denying access to kids who were perfectly able to benefit from higher education.

Now some will say we should reserve university education for the select few, and that is fine. But they can pay for it themselves.