Teens rejecting university for jobs now

The majority of 16 to 21-year-olds would rather start earning money straight away than head to university.

And it is the debts facing students that are putting off more than two young people in five (43 per cent), figures from Alliance & Leicester show.

Overall, some 54 per cent of Britons aged between 16 and 21 would rather not go to university.

"Many 16 to 21 year olds now make the positive choice to go straight into work rather than university and as a result are very career driven," said Andy Bayes, head of current accounts at Alliance & Leicester.

"It is encouraging to see that by taking this route many people become financially savvy with their money from a relatively early age.

"We think it is important to recognise those who are just starting out in their working life and offer them support, especially in the first stages of their professional lives when they are likely to be making important financial decisions."

One teen in ten is rejecting university as they see higher education as a "waste of time" and one in seven says a degree is not needed to do the job they want to.

And students are getting in more debt than ever before.

Credit reference agency Callcredit calculates that students who went to university last autumn will graduate with collective debts of more than £5 million, at an average of £15,000 each.

This is more than double the £6,161 average figure for graduating students seven years ago.