‘Example’ PhD student faces uni suspension

A STUDENT who went on to study a PhD despite having dropped out of school when he was 13 is now facing suspension due to financial difficulties. Rupert Smith is working on a PhD in philosophy at the University of Bristol, specialising in the philosophy of physics.

The 28-year-old has spoken out about being the first student to go through the Foundation Year in Arts and Humanities without having done GCSE or A-levels, but he may now be suspended from further studies due to debt. Having left school early due to family problems, he had lived in different parts of the UK while growing up.

“I could have become an example of the ways Bristol University is removing barriers to low-income and disadvantaged students,” he said. “But instead it has become an example of the ways of corporate nastiness of the university removing access to education to those worse off.”

Rupert said he had completed his Master’s degree in the philosophy of mathematics, but had been unable to pay university fees and it was this historic debt which could see his studies come to an abrupt end.

He said during his Master’s studies, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and he had spent many hours writing his thesis in the oncology department while she received treatment.

A University of Bristol spokesperson said: “We have been in regular discussions with Rupert to try and find solutions and have provided a range of financial support including substantial hardship and cost-of-living payments, but we have now exhausted the options available to us. As he has accrued significant amounts of debt, we feel it would be irresponsible for us to allow this to carry on without intervention and he has been advised to suspend his studies. If the outstanding fees are paid, we will support him to resume his studies and hope that he can do so.”