A golden future doesn't necessarily include going to university, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Just over a quarter of small business owners have a degree (27.7%), while nearly half have GCSE or professional qualifications.

A spokesman said:

"It will be suitable for some students who have passed their A-levels to go on to Higher Education but other equally successful students will already have their entrepreneurial ideas ready for action.

"If that is the case, it might be better for them to strike while the iron is hot rather than wait three or four years at University, by which time the chance may have passed."

The FSB also said it opposed the Government's aim of getting 50% of young people into university.