Universities minister David Willetts has unveiled plans for bright pupils from poor homes to receive congratulation letters from ministers if they achieve top GCSE scores.

Incentivising or patronising pupils, the plans have brought about mixed reaction.

Under the scheme, expected to be launched this summer in England, high-achieving students will also receive information about how to apply for university. In a speech last week in London, Willetts said he hoped that the scheme would also be rolled out to pupils starting their A-Levels this autumn.

Willetts alluded to research from the USA which found that sending information packs to bright, low-income students had a positive effect on uptake of places at sixth-form.

The letters will be sent to students via their head teacher, owing to concerns surrounding data protection, which Willetts was keen to highlight: “With today’s sensitivities about data protection, it is hard for ministers to drop a line directly to Joe or Gemma congratulating them on their exam results and urging them to think about going to university.”

The minister said he was working with the department for Education to see “whether we can better target information at pupils from poorer backgrounds who have done well at their GCSEs”.

Criticism over the scheme has also focused on what opponents see as Willetts’ lack of support for apprenticeships, since his letters will only provide information relating to pursuing a university education.

In his speech, Willetts continued: “We are not going to start telling people where to apply. But I want to work with you so that we can go further in ensuring that students know where to look for the information that will help them make the right decision for them - about the range of universities and the support available.”

The universities minister was addressing attendees of the annual conference of the funding body for English universities. Willetts said that he wants the university sector to improve the way it monitors student satisfaction rates. He also talked of the expansion of universities which take in lower-achieving students, to give increased flexibility in the number of places and greater choice.