12th March 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
According to research, figures suggest that state school pupils are significantly more likely to gain a place at Russell Group universities than their contemporaries from independent schools. While students from state schools were accepted with B or C grades, those with A* and A grades were about 20 per cent less likely to be admitted.
It emerged that the gulf in grades between independent and state school pupils was most evident at universities which are highly selective. However, this was also seen at Russell Group universities with the lowest number of privately educated students including Liverpool, Cardiff and Glasgow. This research comes in the midst of enormous pressure on universities to widen their social intake.
Universities across the UK have been instructed to admit students from deprived social circumstances and poor-performing schools. Furthermore, in order to secure the right to charge the increased £9,000 tuition fees, they have been called upon to set tough targets to increase participation from under-represented groups.
The pressure on universities to hit these targets has resulted in some candidates being admitted with lower A-level grades. While it is understandable that there is a willingness to allow good quality state students in, even with slightly lower grades, a policy which treats students as a member of a group does not appear justifiable.