For a while now I’ve been having a conversation with friends that a few years ago would’ve been largely unthinkable. “Maybe I won’t go to university, either,” said one of my kids, eyeing me for a reaction, while I nodded thoughtfully and tried to ride out the panic. In the UK, too, for the last two years, university numbers have dipped slightly. I went to university and want my kids to do the same. My mum would’ve loved to have gone to university but had to leave school at 16 and I’m sure that’s in the mix, too.