The University is facing renewed pressure to improve access initiatives following a report by a leading education thinktank which highlights the continued dominance of Oxbridge entrance by a handful of independent schools.

According to the report, published by the Sutton Trust last week, less than three per cent of the 3,700 secondary schools in the country account for 30 per cent of Oxbridge entrants. 80 of these 100 elite “feeder” schools are private. The 30 top schools, which account for one sixth of Oxbridge, include only one grammar school and one comprehensive. Westminster School, which came top of the list, has sent 410 pupils to Oxford and Cambridge over the past five years., while the school that sends the most pupils to Cambridge is St Paul’s Girls’, where on average one in five students head to the Fens every year.

The Sutton Trust report also shows that a student who attended one of the top thirty independent schools is twice as likely to go on to Oxbridge than one who attended one of the top thirty grammar schools, even if they have the same A-level results.
The findings coincide with fresh criticism from the government, which claims that top universities show a bias towards middle class applicants. John Denham, the minister for Universities, Innovation and Skills, has accused top universities of rejecting pupils from poorer backgrounds and has condemned what he sees as the resulting waste of talent.

Speaking at an event for Cambridge alumni, the University Vice-Chancellor Alison Richard responded to criticism by highlighting recent initiatives to widen access. The publication of the report coincides with announcements that the income threshold for Cambridge University bursaries is to be increased from £18,000 to £25,000. This means that by 2012 the university will be spending seven million pounds on bursaries.

The education system as a whole is unfair to those unable to access the best schools. It represents a huge waste of talent

Professor Richard insisted that “we work very hard at this, though there is still work to be done,” and described this week’s national media coverage as “a real misrepresentation” of the Sutton Trust’s research.”

Dr Lee Elliot Major, Research Director of the Sutton Trust, criticised the media for misinterpreting the report’s findings by claiming that university admissions were “in some way biased against pupils from state schools. The report did not provide any evidence for this.”

Speaking in an interview with Varsity, Dr Major explained that the research did show that “for very high performing schools there were differences in the proportions of pupils admitted to Oxbridge despite similar average A-level grades for the schools” but suggested that this was most likely due to different application rates in the first place rather than any conscious favorable bias towards privately educated applicants in the admissions system.

The biggest challenge for universities according to Dr Major is to encourage more bright students from comprehensives to apply. The report by the Sutton Trust suggested that the Oxbridge admissions process – which includes an early deadline as well as often multiple interviews – was a major factor in putting off applications from state school pupils, but he insists that the problem runs deeper. “The education system as a whole is unfair for those unable to access the best schools and represents a huge waste of talent. Universities are doing a lot to widen access, but more needs to be done.”

In a bid to tackle this problem Bill Rammell, the minister for Higher Education, has announced proposals to introduce a Post-qualification Application System (PQA) designed to address the inequalities in the existing Ucas system. The proposals have met with a mixed reaction in the higher education sector due to concern that there will be insufficient time to consider applications before the new academic year.
Many private schools have welcomed the report as proof of the advantages of selective education. The High Master of St Paul’s School, Martin Stephen, told Varsity that he was unsurprised by the findings of the Sutton Trust. He pointed to extensive research in the USA which suggests that bright children are most likely to excel when educated with other bright pupils, evidence of what Stephen called a “force of nature” whereby intellectually gifted children both stimulate one another and also attract intelligent teachers. “Rather than fighting against this the government should be buying into it.”

Camilla Temple

To see the Sutton Report click here