The exam system or the school system is wrong

I knew I was going to enjoy the Commons Education Select Committee visit to Germany and Switzerland when, on the first day, the German Green Party politician Ulrich Steinbach said he did not understand the "value for money" attitude towards university in the UK.He didn’t say it to make a political point; he simply found it incomprehensible that we Brits would view universities in this way rather than as institutions to educate our young people and areas of academic excellence.The view was reflected in Switzerland, too, when we met Sarah Springman at ETH Zurich University. She could not understand our preoccupation with the Teaching Excellence Framework as a way of measuring the value of our universities.Switzerland has a radical approach to university. If the student has achieved the appropriate level of qualification then they can attend any university they choose without having to sit an entrance exam or pass an interview.