Don’t defer university place, London academic urges

“I think it’s a good year to come to university”
PA
Anna Davis @_annadavis17 August 2020

This is a great year to go to university in spite of the impact of the pandemic, a London university chief said.

In a message to students thinking of deferring their place for a year, David Ashton, deputy principal of Royal Holloway, University of London, pointed out that class sizes will be smaller due to social distancing and said that clubs and societies will still be running.

The number of students deferring starting their degree has risen slightly on 2019. But Mr Ashton said: “I think it’s a good year to come to university.”

He said his university has invested heavily in IT and introduced a “flexible learning model”, so courses can be held both in person and online.

Mr Ashton added: “Just in case we move into another lockdown we can flex in and out of the two different modes to keep the show on the road.”