Everybody should stay at school until they are 18 years old. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
I completely agree that all people should remain in formal education until the age of 18, as this policy brings far more individual and societal benefits than drawbacks.
First, mandatory schooling to 18 equips young people with the foundational academic and life skills needed to navigate adulthood. Before 18, most adolescents lack the maturity to make fully informed, long-term decisions about their future; leaving school early often forces them into low-skill, low-wage work with little upward mobility. For example, data from the UK’s Department for Education shows that people who left school before 18 were 3 times more likely to be unemployed in their 20s than those who completed upper secondary education, as they lacked core qualifications in maths, English and digital literacy required for most modern jobs.
Second, extended schooling supports social equity, reducing gaps between privileged and marginalised groups. When school leaving age is set lower, students from low-income families are far more likely to drop out to support family income, trapping them in cycles of poverty. Raising the mandatory age ensures all young people, regardless of background, have equal access to learning opportunities, vocational training or academic pathways to university. For instance, when Australia raised its school leaving age to 18 in 2010, Indigenous student graduation rates rose by 27% within five years, narrowing the achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth significantly.
Critics may argue that some teenagers are better suited to hands-on work instead of academic study, but modern upper secondary curricula can accommodate this: vocational courses in trades, hospitality or creative industries offered within schools allow practical learners to gain job-ready skills while still completing their education, rather than entering the workforce with no support or qualifications.
In conclusion, requiring all young people to stay in school until 18 is a fair, effective policy that improves individual life prospects and builds a more skilled, equitable society.