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Wage gap too large—say three out of four BritainsNearly three out of four people (74%) think that income differences in Britain are too large and seven in ten (69%) believe that parents’ income plays too big a part in determining children’s life chances, according to the first survey of attitudes to inequality and social mobility commissioned by the Sutton Trust. The results from the Ipsos MORI survey of over 2,000 adults are consistent with academic research which has shown that background plays a bigger role in determining educational outcomes in Britain than in many other countries and that levels of social mobility are relatively low. Recent research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies meanwhile has suggested that income inequality is at its highest level since the 1960s (note 1). The other findings of the survey paint a mixed picture of attitudes to inequality and mobility:
Dr Lee Elliot Major, Director of Research at the Sutton Trust, said: “Opportunities in this country remain heavily determined by parental background. A wide range of research places Britain at or near the bottom of the league table of mobility, particularly in terms of the link between children’s educational achievement and parental income. These findings suggest unease among the public about life opportunities in modern Britain, but that perceptions of mobility and inequality are mixed. The public appear to recognise some of the inequalities in our society, but on the face of it half do not think that Britain is particularly socially immobile. If we are to promote real change, a first step is to recognise that we have a problem and create a consensus on the need for reform. The Sutton Trust has recently brought together a range of academics, educationalists and policymakers to discuss how to promote mobility through education and to begin to build a way forward. In the Autumn we will propose a number of practical ways forward which we hope will make a real difference to people’s future opportunities.” 60,000 high-achievers miss out on university places each yearSixty thousand state school pupils who have been among the top fifth of academic performers in their year do not go on to higher education, according to new research commissioned by the Sutton Trust published today. The study by the Institute of Education and the Institute for Fiscal Studies is the first to use new government data to track the progress of one year group of 600,000 English pupils through their secondary school careers and on to university, quantifying the attrition rates of high performers during their teenage years. The analysis was undertaken for the Sutton Trust’s report to the National Council for Educational Excellence on increasing participation in higher education for disadvantaged pupils. It is part of a much wider project supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, which will be presented at a conference next Tuesday. The Sutton Trust study found that there were a significant number of youngsters who at some point were in the top 20 percent of school achievers at key stage 2, 3 or GCSE, but who did not subsequently go on to enter university by age 19. If they had, young entrants to UK universities would have been boosted by 25 percent. The research – which was based on pupils starting secondary school in 1997 - also found that young people eligible for free school meals (FSM) were 19 percentage points less likely to attend university than those not on free school meals. When prior exam achievements were taken into account, however, there was virtually no gap between FSM and non-FSM children – in other words, poorer students who reach A-levels are as highly likely to go on to higher education as their better off peers. The problem is getting poorer students to A-levels in the first place. Looking just at those young people who do go on to university, the study found that pupils on free school meals are slightly less likely to enter one of the Sutton Trust group of highly selective universities (see notes) than other young people, even when prior academic attainment at school is taken into account. Dr Lee Elliot Major, the research director at the Sutton Trust, said: "These findings show that there remains significant numbers of bright young people with academic potential who do not progress to university. If we are serious about broadening the social mix of the sector it is important not only that the brightest and best get in to our most highly-selective institutions, but that more young people from poorer backgrounds go on to higher education full stop. This means ensuring that those who show promise in their school careers maintain high standards; that they understand the full range of benefits to higher education study; and, particularly crucially, that they are offered practical support to realise their aspirations." Dr Anna Vignoles, Director of the Centre for Economics of Education at the Institute of Education, who led the research, commented: “It has long been argued that there are financial and social barriers at the point of entry into higher education which prevent poorer students from going to university. This research shows clearly that the main reason why poorer students do not go to university to the same extent as their wealthier peers is that they have weaker academic achievement in school.” Notes to editorsThe research was produced by Haroon Chowdry, Claire Crawford, Lorraine Dearden, Alissa Goodman and Anna Vignoles at the Institute of Education and Institute of Fiscal Studies. The Sutton 13 Universities are based on average newspaper league table rankings and comprise: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Imperial, LSE, Nottingham, Oxford, St Andrews, UCL, Warwick and York. State school pupils fail to recognise differences in universities' earning powersHalf of state school pupils do not think that they will be better off financially by going to certain universities over others, and teachers in the maintained sector are reluctant to discuss the different status of universities, suggest two new pieces of research commissioned by the Sutton Trust. A survey of over 3,000 young people by PeopleSurv revealed that 51% of those educated in state schools believed there is no difference in earnings between higher education institutions, compared with 35% from independent schools. Young people from poorer backgrounds were also less likely to recognise differences than their better off peers (68% versus 38%), even though studies show that graduates from universities with higher academic status have significantly higher earnings than those from other universities (see note). In separate research undertaken by the Institute of Education, researchers found that, even in schools with good track records in admissions to highly-selective universities, the emphasis in briefing sessions was on entry to higher education in general: "Teachers are generally reluctant to draw attention to status differences between universities, and many students appear to have only a vague notion of status." The exception to this is Oxford and Cambridge, partly because Oxbridge applicants are openly given extra assistance with applications and preparation for interview. The Institute of Education study also reported that the children with two graduate parents were much more likely than others to discuss university entry at home and were therefore less reliant on information provided by the school. They also began to think about applying to university much earlier in their school careers. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “The UK's diverse higher education sector has institutions of many different strengths, and it is right that young people consider a range of factors when making their choices. But we believe it is important that all young people should be aware of all the relevant information on different courses at different universities. Pupils should not be disadvantaged in making these decisions by their background or the type of school they happen to attend. We need to spread best practice on information, advice and guidance on higher education choices from a handful of schools and colleges to the rest of the sector.” The Institute’s research built on an earlier Sutton Trust report, which showed that there are relatively few comprehensive schools that send significant numbers of students to the most prestigious universities, and those that do so tend to have relatively advantaged students. The new study sought to identify what factors had enabled a few state comprehensives to have relatively high levels of admission to prestigious universities at the same time as having a higher than average proportion of disadvantaged pupils. Professor Geoff Whitty, a member of the Institute team, said: “Even with similar predicted grades, students from families where neither parent went to university are much less likely to apply to prestigious universities than those with two graduate parents. All students, but first generation students in particular, need earlier information and help from the school if they are to make appropriate choices about which subjects to study and which universities to apply to. Note:Two forthcoming studies support this: Wage Returns to Quality of Higher Education Institute Attended by Iftikhar Hussain, Sandra McNally, Shqiponja Telhaj, London School of Economics This study uses data from a series of Graduate Cohort Studies to assess the wages of graduates four years after leaving university. It uses a range of factors - including research ratings in the Research Assessment Exercise, the retention rate for students, average pre-university test scores in A-levels and other exams - to estimate the status of different universities. The calculations control for range of individual characteristics of students including A-level points score, subject of degree, gender, age, type of school attended, ethnicity and parental education. It concludes that the wage returns for graduates from a top-ranked institution using these measures are over twice as high as the returns for graduates from an institution ranked much more lowly. The study also suggests that these differences in returns may be increasing over time. Graduating and gradations within the middle class: the legacy of an elite higher education by Sally Power, Cardiff University and Geoff Whitty, Institute of Education This study surveys the outcomes of a small cohort of graduates who left university in the mid-1990s. It creates a ranking of elite universities from various published ‘performance’ tables. These include Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Imperial, King's College, London, London School of Economics, Oxford, St Andrews, University College London. It finds that nearly one fifth (19%) of those who went to elite universities were earning over £90,000 per annum – compared with only 8% and 5% of those who went to other ‘old’ and ‘new’ universities respectively. 33% of the graduates from elite universities now own their home outright, compared with 21% of graduates from other universities and 13% of non-graduates. Read the full Institute of Education report here University aspirations highest for five yearsNearly three out of four young people say they are likely to go into higher education – the highest for five years - and fewer are being deterred from university by worries over debt, according to the latest Ipsos MORI poll of student intentions published today by the Sutton Trust. Seventy-two percent of students aged 11-16 feel they are either likely or very likely to go on to higher education, the highest figure recorded since the survey began in 2003. Thirty-nine percent said they were ‘very likely’ to go into higher education when they were old enough and 34 percent said they were ‘fairly likely’ (see notes). Only 8 percent of the 2,387 students questioned said they were either ‘very unlikely’ or ‘fairly unlikely’ to go to university compared to 11 percent last year, a significant drop. The main reason mentioned by more than half (52 percent) of those who do not think they will progress to higher education is the desire to “do something practical rather than studying from books." Fifty percent want to start earning as soon as possible and 30 percent think they can get a well-paid job without a degree. Only 13 percent reported that they are “worried about getting into debt as a student”, compared with 20 percent last year – again, a significant fall. However, many students do not think they are getting enough information from their teachers about going into higher education. Four out of ten said they are either getting ‘not very much’ information (31 percent) or ‘none at all’ (9 percent). Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "While it is encouraging that three quarters of young people aspire to university, less than half that number currently end up in higher education and those from poorer families are the least likely to progress. So we need to offer more support to young people throughout their education so that they are in a position to realise their ambitions at 18 and beyond. That is why it is worrying that so many students feel they are not being provided with enough information about higher education by their schools. Research from Staffordshire University which we published in February showed that few students knew about the bursaries or maintenance grants on offer at universities. Today’s findings are a further reminder that support and guidance about higher education needs to start early on – at primary school upwards – and be a core part of the school day, so that no young person loses out." Sutton Trust summer school students from non-traditional backgrounds do well in degreesStudents from non-privileged backgrounds who attended Sutton Trust university summer do well in their university degrees, suggests a review published today. Nearly nine out of ten students (88%) responding to a survey who attended a summer school graduated with a 2:1 or first class degree. This compares with 56% of students achieving these classifications nationally, and 67% in leading research universities (where most summer school students enrol). This is likely to be an over-estimate of the proportion of Sutton Trust summer school students gaining top degrees, as those who received a 2:1 or first class degree were more likely to respond to the survey than those who did not. Nevertheless it suggests that a high proportion of these students do go on to achieve very good degrees. This is backed up by a separate analysis at Nottingham University which found that 78.6% of all summer school students admitted to the university received 2.1s or Firsts in their degrees. This compared with 75.5% of students receiving these classifications at the university as a whole. Summer school students are far less likely to come from professional backgrounds than other university students. Under four in ten (38%) students attending summer schools in 2000 had parents in professional, managerial and non-manual occupations. This compared with over eight in ten full time students at selective research universities. The Trust, set up by Sir Peter Lampl in 1997 to improve social mobility through education, pioneered the one-week long university courses in the UK in 1997. Over the last decade over 10,000 students have benefited from the summer schools supported by the Trust and its partners. Most universities now run similar summer schools often supported by Government funds helping thousands of students a year. Pulling together different strands of research, the Ten Year Review of Sutton Trust Summer Schools summarises a number of studies on the impact of the schools as well as interviews with past students. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “The success of the summer schools is not just demonstrated by how well past students do academically at leading universities – impressive though these results are. The summer schools are also about social benefits – many students told researchers how for the first time they found like-minded people during their university stay – after feeling isolated in their own local schools. Such experiences show just how life transforming the summer schools can be. This is a vital message to get out today to students from homes where neither parent went to university, from schools which don’t send many students to leading universities and from families whose parents work in non-professional occupations.” The Trust is currently in the middle of offering these students (aged 16-17 in Year 12) who have must have done well in their GCSEs, a once-in-a-life time chance to sample life at a top university with all tuition, travel and board expenses paid.” Deadline for applications is 14 March. As well as Oxford and Cambridge, the research covers the universities of Bristol, Nottingham and (since 2002) St Andrew’s, where the sponsored weeks are conducted by staff and mentors (often themselves former summer school students) from those universities. The results also suggest that ex-summer schools students are much more likely to go on to do a postgraduate degree – one in five as opposed to one in 16 nationally – particularly at doctorate level. They are also more likely to go into teaching – 17% went on to work as teachers in compulsory education compared to about 7% nationally. About half of students attending these summer schools each year apply for a place at that university, about a third win places at them, and about 15% enter the host university. Most of the others go to leading research universities. An analysis of 80 past students showed that 94% went on to enrol at leading research universities including 36% who enrolled at Oxbridge. Of these 26% obtained first class degrees and 62% received 2:1s. This compares with 10.5% of all full time students who gained first class degrees and 45.5% who gained 2:1s in the UK in 2003-04. In 2003, 15.5% of students gained first class degrees at Russell Group universities, and 51.1% received 2.1s. The review also includes the results of an analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) into the financial returns for these students based on extra earnings over a life-time. BCG estimated that for every £1 spent on the Bristol summer school a discounted present value of £9 of extra earnings were generated and this figure rose to £14 at the Cambridge summer school. Poorer students have little knowledge of bursaries on offerMany students from poor backgrounds are being put off university because they are afraid of getting into debt and very few of them know about bursaries or maintenance grants on offer, according to a report by Staffordshire University published today. The report was commissioned by the Sutton Trust, which seeks to improve social mobility by providing educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Trust, said: “This report shows there is a general ignorance, especially among poorer students, of the financial support packages on offer. Government, schools and colleges should take note. Young people need better information on the complex system of bursaries and grants, and this needs to be provided before they have made their higher education choices. Simple steps like these could have a big impact. The report also finds that concerns about debt are deterring certain groups of young people from going on to higher education and influencing their decision to choose a local university rather than one further afield.” The researchers from the university’s Institute of Educational Policy Research and Institute for Access Studies, received replies from 1,628 students aged 17-18 from 20 schools. They found that a majority of students (59%) who had decided not to pursue study in higher education reported that avoiding debt had affected their decision ‘much’ or ‘very much’. More than half (56%) of all the students surveyed who were thinking of going into higher education were considering a local university because of the financial implications. This is a much higher proportion than in previous surveys (14% in 1995/6 and 18% in 1998/9), but this may be because the survey concentrated on two large urban areas. The researchers found that students from homes with an annual income below £35,000 were more likely to consider a local university. But the report found that although most students understood exactly what was meant by bursaries, only a small minority (30%) had actively searched for information on financial support. Almost half (45%) did not know whether they were eligible or not. Had they known that they were eligible for a bursary of £2,000 nearly 85% of those from low income homes said it would have encouraged them to apply. Students who were expecting high examination grades were more likely to be informed about the existence of bursaries, but even these students had a ‘patchy knowledge’ of their eligibility for them at the universities to which they had applied. The researchers found that information provided by schools tended to focus more on money management while at university and information on financial support came too late to affect their decision or whether or not to apply to university. Teachers show alarming misconceptions about OxbridgeSecondary school teachers in England and Wales seriously underestimate the proportion of state school students at Oxford and Cambridge universities, according to an Ipsos MORI survey of nearly 500 teachers published by the Sutton Trust today. More than a third of those who made a valid response believed that 20% or less of undergraduates at the two universities came from the state sector, and the majority (three fifths) thought it was 30% or less, even though 93% of school-aged children attend state schools. In total 91% of teachers underestimated the representation of state school pupils, while only 1.5% over-estimated (see appended tables). Only 8% of respondents picked the correct figure of between 51% and 60% of students coming from the state sector. The actual figure is 54%. The majority of teachers answering (56%) also thought it was more expensive for students to study at Oxbridge, whereas in fact the two universities charge the same tuition fees as the vast majority of other English universities and offer some of the most generous bursary provision. Alarmingly, only just over half the teachers (54%) reported that they would generally recommend their brightest students to apply to Oxbridge, while 45% said they would never or rarely do so. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “The misconceptions among secondary school teachers about Oxbridge are alarming and clearly have an impact on the number of bright state school students applying to these two great universities, despite the considerable efforts that both are making to reach out to them.” The Sutton Trust sponsors summer schools and other access initiatives at both universities for state school students and teachers. But Sir Peter added: “It is clear that much more needs to be done to dispel the myths about Oxbridge and other leading universities, and to ensure that young people’s higher education decisions are based on fact not fiction.” Tables 1. At Oxbridge, what percentage of students from UK schools and colleges on undergraduate courses come from the state sector?
Base: All teachers making a valid response (452); a further 45 respondents (9% overall) said 'don't know' 2. Comparing courses on a like-for-like basis, is studying for an undergraduate degree at Oxbridge generally more expensive, as expensive or less expensive than at other universities?
Base: All teachers making a valid response (385); a further 112 respondents (23% overall) said 'don't know' 3. Which of the following best describes the frequency with which you advise the academically-gifted pupils that you teach (or have taught) to apply to Oxbridge?
Base: All teachers making a valid response (463); a further 34 respondents (7% overall) said 'don't know' Low social mobility in the UK has not improved in 30 yearsSocial mobility in the UK remains at the low level it was for those born in 1970, with recent generations of children’s educational outcomes still overwhelmingly tied to their parents’ income, according to the latest Sutton Trust research released today. The study, from the London School of Economics and the University of Surrey and funded by the Sutton Trust, reviews evidence related to children born between 1970 and the Millennium, to determine whether the decline in social mobility between previous generations has continued. The main findings of the work by Dr Jo Blanden and Professor Stephen Machin show that:
Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, commented: “Shamefully, Britain remains stuck at the bottom of the international league tables when it comes to social mobility. It is appalling that young people’s life chances are still so tied to the fortunes of their parents, and that this situation has not improved over the last three decades. We need a radical review of our approach to improving social mobility, starting with an independent commission to review the underlying causes for our low level of mobility and what can be done to address it. This is an issue which requires action on a broad front over a long period – it is too important to be used as a political football.” For its part, the Sutton Trust has been funding since 1997 a wide range of education access initiatives from the early years, through primary and secondary schools, to university and beyond. In partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Trust is also hosting a high level international summit to identify the drivers of social mobility and consider where governments and others should be focussing their efforts. Dr Jo Blanden commented: “By looking at the relationship between children's educational outcomes at different ages and parental income we can predict likely patterns of mobility for cohorts who have not yet reached adulthood. On this basis we cannot find any evidence that the sharp drop in mobility observed for children growing up in the 1970s and 1980s has continued. But nor can we find evidence that mobility has improved.” Please follow this link to read the summary report The Sutton Trust's 10th Anniversary CelebrationsThe Sutton Trust held its 10th anniversary celebrations at the Banqueting House on the evening of Monday 15th October. Five-hundred guests - including Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentarians, philanthropists and representatives from schools, universities and Trust-supported projects - heard the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, describe the work of the Trust as an "inspiration to all of us [which] has won over these ten years the huge respect and admiration of the whole of the British community." The Prime Minister continued that the Trust has "already started to transform life in our universities, colleges and schools" and added that "I believe that the research that the Sutton Trust has done in these last ten years has made an enormous difference to the way we look at problems in our society." He concluded that Sir Peter Lampl, the Trust's Chairman and founder "is genuinely transforming lives" and thanked the Sutton Trust, its advisory board, and all those who have contributed to its "great ten years". Sir Peter responded to Gordon Brown's kind words by emphasising the Trust's commitment to continuing its fruitful collaboration with government and to influencing the education policy debate through research and innovative pilot projects. But he also set out the challenges that remain in the next ten years: to address Britain's shamefully low levels of social mobility and to break the link between educational achievement and social background. To do this, Sir Peter outlined that the Trust will be focusing particularly on: more interventions in the early years; embedding university access and enrichment work in the core school curriculum; projects targeted at key transitions in young people's lives; and on increasing its research capacity. Excerpts of Prime Minister's Speech View the video here: The Sutton Trust 10th Anniversary Film Educational interventions offer excellent financial returnsEducational initiatives which are well targeted - particularly at key junctures in young people's educational careers - produce benefits worth an average £15 for every £1 spent, according to a new report based on an analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm. BCG used a corporate portfolio analysis to compare nine Sutton Trust programmes with three comparator programmes. The analysis was undertaken by BCG for the 10th anniversary of the Sutton Trust, which provides educational opportunities for non-privileged young people and aims to improve social mobility in the UK. The returns were measured in terms of the present value financial benefit to the individuals who take part. The analysis did not include the wider benefits to society - for example, in terms of better health, well-being and community participation - which result from these initiatives and which are significant. Taking the Sutton Trust Cambridge summer school as an example, the cost of providing the week long school to 144 students is £72,000. BCG calculated that the summer school increases the percentage of participants applying to top universities by 24 percentage points, and of those applying who take up places by 35 percentage points. More of the participants will therefore gain a degree from a top university, which in the case of Cambridge is worth a premium of £79,000 over a degree from a university outside a small group of elite institutions. The study finds that the value generated by the initiative is therefore £975,000 - a return of 14 to 1 on the investment made. The report concludes: "Investment works best when it is targeted at key milestones in a child's life: pre-school before starting primary education; transition from primary to secondary school; moving from school to college or higher education. Educational investment is better deployed when it is focussed on targeted individuals, such as those at highest risk of falling behind in primary school or bright pupils who may not fulfil their potential." For further information contact: Tim Devlin, Sutton Trust press office on 01205 290817 or 07939 544 487 Notes to editors: The Sutton Trust is a charity founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl with the aim of providing educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds and improving social mobility. The activities of the Trust are aimed at helping children who are educationally disadvantaged, by raising both their aspirations and academic achievement. It funds a wide range of research and projects covering parenting and early years, schools, universities and access to the professions. For further information see www.suttontrust.com. The Boston Consulting Group is an international strategy and general management consulting firm whose mission is to help leading corporations create and sustain competitive advantage. As an international firm, its strong global presence offers clients and employees a wealth of cross-cultural experience. BCG currently has 66 offices in 38 countries. Read the report here: Investing for Impact Halifax launches £1 million university access scheme for Yorkshire youngstersAnnounced today, Halifax is launching a £1 million initiative to nurture the talents of bright Yorkshire youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is the only programme of its kind in the UK. The Halifax led 'Reach for Excellence' programme is being delivered and administered by the Sutton Trust and University of Leeds. It will benefit 360 sixteen to eighteen year-olds over a three year period across Halifax's Yorkshire heartland. The scheme is aimed at youngsters from non-privileged backgrounds and is designed to help them realise their potential and gain a place at a top university. The programme has now opened and is accepting applications through schools and colleges across Yorkshire. The only programme of its kind Funding Access to higher education Data from the Office of National Statistics show that the expansion of higher education over the last decade has disproportionately benefited those from the higher social classes. In 1991/92 35% of those in the top three social classes went to university, compared to 11% from the bottom three - a gap of 24 percentage points. Ten years later, although the proportions of both higher and lower social class students had increased because of the expansion of university places, the 'gap' between the social classes had increased to 31 percentage points. Eligibility In addition to targeting areas of need other criteria will be used:
The selection will not be purely on proof of academic achievement, but also on potential. Students will be recruited for the initiative from September this year with the scheme due to begin in January 2008. HBOS in the community HBOS is the biggest financial service employer in Yorkshire with 14,200 people in the region. This represents 21% of the company's UK workforce - up 3,100 (+28.5%) since 2001. Colleagues are encouraged to get involved in volunteering. In 2006 over 7,300 colleagues across the UK registered their volunteering activities. These community based activities range from ongoing regular work by individuals, through to single day 'team challenges' by groups and departments. A number of volunteering initiatives have been launched during 2007, particularly focusing on improving education standards and providing young people and disadvantaged adults with the skills to support them into employment. Shane O'Riordain, General Manager, Halifax Group Communications, said: "The Halifax is delighted to be supporting young people in its Yorkshire heartland. We hope to make a real difference in areas of need by helping youngsters obtain a place at a top university." Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "It is becoming more and more important that we make full use of the talents of bright young people, particularly those from non-privileged backgrounds. Too often these students feel that they are not good enough to get into a top university or that they won't fit in once they are there. Thanks to the generous support of the Halifax and the work of Leeds University, we can dispel these myths through this innovative programme. 'Reach for Excellence' really will offer life-changing opportunities to hundreds of young people." Professor Michael Arthur, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds supported these comments adding: "We are really excited about this programme. There are many areas in our region with high levels of deprivation and low progression rates to higher education. This project should improve the life-chances of many able young people living in these areas and ensure they achieve their full potential." For further information contact: Alex Barnett, Halifax press office on 01422 334 695 Tim Devlin, Sutton Trust press office on 07939 544 487 Simon Jenkins, University of Leeds press office on 0113 343 5764 Notes to editors: The HBOS Foundation works with charitable and 'not-for-profit' organisations across the UK, particularly those organisations that support people and their local communities. The Foundation's community giving is focused on two guiding themes; money advice and financial literacy and developing and improving communities. The HBOS Foundation is a registered charity No.SCO32942. The Sutton Trust is a charity founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl with the aim of providing educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged backgrounds and improving social mobility. The activities of the Trust are aimed at helping children who are educationally disadvantaged, by raising both their aspirations and academic achievement. It funds a wide range of research and projects covering parenting and early years, schools, universities and access to the professions. For further information see www.suttontrust.com. The University of Leeds is acclaimed for the quality of its teaching and research. One of the largest universities in the UK, Leeds is also the most popular among students applying for undergraduate courses. An emphasis on innovative research and investment in high-quality facilities and first-rate infrastructure means that no fewer than 35 departments are rated internationally or nationally 'excellent'. Last year the University worked with over 30,000 young people to raise their aspirations and achievement towards higher education Read more about Reach for Excellence at the University of Leeds. *Source: Young participation in higher education, HEFCE 2005; DfES; Scottish Funding Council Elite schools dominate admissions to top universitiesNew research by the Sutton Trust into the university destinations of more than one million students over the past five years highlights the dominance of admissions to the country's leading universities by a small number of schools, mainly fee paying. The Trust is committing a minimum of £10 million over the next five years to widen access to these universities and is calling on others to join the cause and to support innovative new projects which will increase the number of entrants from non-privileged backgrounds. The study - University admissions by individual schools - is the first to analyse in detail admission rates between 2002 and 2006 for 3,700 individual schools and colleges on the UCAS admissions database. It shows that:
Over 80% of these elite schools are in the independent sector, which accounts for 7% of the school-age population. The analysis reveals that these trends cannot be attributed to A-level results alone:
Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Trust, said: "It is deeply worrying - not to mention a sad waste of talent - that the chances of reaching one of these highly-selective universities are much greater for those who attend a small number of the country's elite schools, mainly fee paying. Where does this leave the vast majority of the population who do not have access to these opportunities? While these findings will be disappointing to everyone who has worked so hard to widen access to research-led universities, I am in no doubt that the situation would be worse had we and others - including the government and the university sector - not invested in initiatives like summer schools and outreach programmes over the last decade. The universities covered by this report have done a great deal to encourage applicants from non-privileged backgrounds and their efforts should be recognised. However, this study shows that there is much more to do. As a start, we should be opening up independent day schools and leading state schools to those from non-privileged backgrounds, as has been done at the Belvedere School in Liverpool and Pate's in Cheltenham. More widely, we should learn more from high-performing schools and look to extend the opportunities they offer to all young people, whether it is through tailored advice or guidance, extra curricular activities or the chance to deepen and broaden their subject knowledge. The Sutton Trust with support from its donors is committing a minimum of £10m over the next five years to address these issues. We would like to invite universities, schools and other organisations to come forward with new and innovative ways to raise the aspirations and attainment of non-privileged youngsters, and we want to encourage businesses, philanthropists and government to join with us in providing funding for these new projects." Barry Sheerman, Chairman of the Education and Skills Select Committee said: "I commend the Sutton Trust for its commitment to increasing the numbers of young people from less privileged backgrounds entering the leading universities. There remains resistance to making the sort of institutional change necessary to make admissions to our top universities fairer. We need to see the full acceptance of the Education and Skills Select Committee's recommendations on university access if we are to transform the present, unacceptable, situation." Summary results Oxbridge
Sutton 13 Universities
The Sutton 13 Universities are based on average newspaper league table rankings and comprise: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Imperial, LSE, Nottingham, Oxford, St Andrews, UCL, Warwick and York. Read the report here: University Admissions by Individual Schools The educational backgrounds of 500 leading figuresAttached below is a summary of the findings of the latest Sutton Trust research into the educational backgrounds of 500 leading figures in law, politics, medicine, journalism and business. Comparing the school and university destinations of those in leading positions today with their equivalents of 20 years ago, the study finds that over half of the top 500 were educated at independent schools - which today educate just 7% of school-age children - and that this has declined only marginally in the last twenty years. Commenting on the findings, Dr Lee Elliot Major, Director of Research at the Sutton Trust, said: "This analysis shows that the school you attend at age 11 has a huge impact on your life chances, and particularly how likely you are to reach the top of your chosen profession. We are still to a large extent a society divided by wealth, with future elites groomed at particular schools and universities, while the educational opportunities available to those from non-privileged backgrounds make it much more difficult for them to reach the top." Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman and founder of the Trust commented: "The first priority should be to improve our underperforming state schools but we also need to recognise that we have a socially selective school system. The top 20 percent of our secondary schools - independents, grammars and leading comprehensives - are effectively closed to those from non-privileged backgrounds. We should open up independent day schools to children from all backgrounds on the basis of merit alone, along the lines of the Open Access scheme at the Belvedere School in Liverpool. We should also ensure our grammar schools and top comprehensives are more socially diverse." Educational backgrounds of 500 leading people in the UK Overall findings:
The analysis also found:
Tables Table 1: Percentages of leading people at different types of schools
All figures are percentages in relation to UK educated people Table 2: Percentages of leading people who have been to university educated at Oxbridge
All figures are percentages in relation to UK educated people Methodology The analysis is based on information on the educational backgrounds of 100 ministers and shadow ministers, 100 high court judges, 100 leading news journalists, 100 medics serving on councils of the royal medical colleges, and the chief executives of the FTSE 100 companies. Figures were collated for current people in these positions and those in equivalent positions two decades ago (with the exception of politicians). All the figures are based on the school and university backgrounds of individuals, gathered from official sources such as 'Who's Who' or from responses from the individuals themselves. Medics CEOs Judges Politicians Journalists Call for cross party commission to increase social mobility in the UKSir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, called on the Government to set up an independent cross-party commission to examine the reasons for UK's very low social mobility, and how it can be addressed. His call came in an interview with John Humphrys on BBC Radio 4's Today programme which is devoting a week to social mobility issues. Sir Peter referred to the latest findings from Stephen Machin and Jo Blanden at the London School of Economics which shows that although social mobility has bottomed-out in recent years it is at a very low level. International studies reveal that the UK is bottom of the table of advanced countries for which there is data. Commenting on the findings, Sir Peter Lampl, said: "This matters because it is fundamentally unfair and inefficient: we need to make best use of the talents of young people from all backgrounds, both for reasons of economic efficiency and fairness. We combine inequality of opportunity with high inequality of outcome - the worst of all worlds. "If we are to address this sorry state of affairs, we need a step change and bold action on a range of fronts. This means investing more in universal, high quality early years provision and improving our under-performing state schools. We also need to recognise that we have a socially selective education system in this country. The top 20 percent of our secondary schools - independents, grammars and leading comprehensives - are effectively closed to those from non-privileged backgrounds. We should open up independent day schools to children from all backgrounds on the basis of merit; ensure our grammar schools take in pupils from less wealthy homes; and make sure our top comprehensives play fair when it comes to admissions. "Both Gordon Brown and David Cameron have acknowledged the seriousness of this issue, but our low level of social mobility is a problem that goes beyond party politics. It is a national issue which requires a national solution. We urgently need an independent cross-party commission to examine why our record is so poor and how we can address this." Notes for News Editors: Also attached is a table taken from the OECD's latest report on mobility for a number of countries, which shows the UK has the lowest intergenerational mobility. The Sutton Trust Further information from Tim Devlin, Press Officer, The Sutton Trust, on 07939 544 487 Interim Findings from Sutton Trust Research 'Recent Evidence on Changes in Intergenerational Mobility' by Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics 1. In 2005 Blanden, Gregg and Machin produced a report for the Sutton Trust highlighting the fall in intergenerational income mobility for those born in 1970 compared to those born in 1958. More specifically, adult earnings of the second cohort were more closely connected to their parental income as teenagers than was the case for the first cohort. These findings have been widely quoted as saying that social mobility has declined in Britain. This work also highlighted the strong persistency in economic position across generations in the UK compared to Canada and the Scandinavian countries. 2. In common with the Blanden, Gregg, Machin work evidence (by Nicoletti and Ermisch from the University of Essex) from the British Household Panel Survey also shows a fall in mobility for birth cohorts between 1961 and 1972. But they find no change in mobility across cohorts born in the previous decade. This is suggestive that the 1958-1970 mobility decline may have been unusual compared to what went before. 3. To first get a handle on what has happened for cohorts born after 1970 we have looked at the relationship between parental income and the probability of obtaining a degree. The strength of this association rose very strongly between the 1958 and 1970 cohorts, but has changed little across cohorts born in the 1970s. This suggests that the rise in educational inequality that went hand-in-hand with falling social mobility has plateaued and levelled out in the recent past. 4. We have also looked at intergenerational associations by considering the relationship between cognitive test scores generations. Comparing children in 1991 and children in 2004 there is certainly no evidence that the strength of these associations has grown at the same, or a similar rate to, the fall in social mobility experienced by the 1970 cohort as compared to those from before. It appears that the downward trend in social mobility has halted; there is certainly no rise in intergenerational associations of the magnitude found in our earlier work for the Sutton Trust. 5. The UK position in the international rankings of social mobility remains very poor. Esping-Anderson finds that UK adults have the strongest association between their test scores and their father's education in a study of 7 OECD countries. Woessman looks at 54 countries and reports evidence of associations between children's test scores and 'books at home' (a proxy for parental income) that make, similarly, the UK bottom of the international rankings. According to this evidence, the social gradient is much more marked for the UK than for almost all other developed countries. 6. We can compare the association between parental education and test scores for children aged 5 in 1975 with the same relationship for 3 year olds in 2003. The associations are very similar, implying that this measure of mobility is similar now to its high level for those born in 1970. Conclusion: Social mobility remains weak in the UK compared to other developed nations. Early indications are that the decline in social mobility for those growing up between the 1970s and 1980s reflects a strong episode of worsening social mobility that was not seen before or since. The trend of worsening has stopped, but the UK remains very low in the developed world rankings at the time of writing and faces a serious challenge if social mobility is to be promoted. Call for independent watchdog to monitor school performanceThe Government should establish an independent body to monitor school performance, recommends a report commissioned by the Sutton Trust. The proposal comes in a review of the UK's record in education under Tony Blair compared with other countries during the last 10 years. While the findings suggest a gradual improvement in school results, the report concludes that it is hard to say whether there has been any real progress because "monitoring is under government control and government has a vested interest in the outcomes." The report documents how the Government has become increasingly embroiled in detailed debate about the interpretation of exam and test statistics as it seeks to defend and promote its policies for schools. The review also argues that schools in England would perform better if they had more freedom of control over their activities. But it adds that greater autonomy for schools must be accompanied by stronger safeguards to ensure fair admissions within the school system. Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "English schools perform a little above average compared with other countries, while English independent schools are at the top of the international league table. However, there is no other advanced country where the gap in performance between independent and state schools is as large as in the UK which is why it is important that they are opened up the 90 per cent of families who can not afford them. "These school statistics have become so politicized that it is time to consider an independent watchdog which among other things would assess the educational performance of schools. Such a body would serve the interests of the public at large, not the vested interests of a particular government, with particular educational policies at stake." Professor Alan Smithers, Director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, who carried out the research, said: "The Blair government, more than any previous government, took explicit responsibility for the 'delivery' of better performance in education and other public services. "But it became very difficult for ministers and policy makers to look at the results of national and international tests dispassionately. Favourable results tended to become part of the government's presentation of itself to the electorate and unfavourable ones tended to be sidelined." "The international studies show that schools with greater autonomy tend to do better. But school freedom over ethos, teaching and recruitment needs to be exercised within a framework that ensures fair admissions." The report Blair's Education - An International Perspective was commissioned by the Sutton Trust, set up by Sir Peter Lampl in 1997 to improve social mobility through education. The report reviews the international and national data on exam and test scores across 33 countries and finds that international comparisons do not fully bear out the government's claims. It also refers to the disturbing findings from the Unicef study on children's well-being which placed the UK bottom out of 21 countries. It concludes: "If there is a genuine desire to improve the education system on the basis of evidence then the monitoring of progress must be tackled in another way... it must be carried out by a body that is genuinely independent. The Bank of England's Monetary Committee comes to mind as an example. The prime functions of the body would be to ensure authentic assessment and to apply rigorous analysis of the results." PEEP shopping centre project evaluationOne of the most recent initiatives from PEEP is the Sutton Trust Shopping Centre Project, an innovative drop-in style provision underpinned by the PEEP ethos and curriculum. Based in a shop in a busy community Shopping Centre at the heart of one of the most deprived areas of an otherwise prosperous city in the Midlands, it aims, not only to welcome and value all parents and carers, but also to extend their existing parenting practices. It is open to everyone but it is hoped that it will be of particular value to families with children whose life chances may be compromised by the circumstances in which they live but who do not access existing statutory services. The project will run for three years and is funded by the Sutton Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation. Ballots in school admissionsBallots to help decide who gets places at oversubscribed schools would be more popular with the public than has so far been suggested, according to the latest research published today (Friday) by the Sutton Trust. The Trust, which aims to improve social mobility through education, says school authorities are right to consider them alongside other criteria when developing rules for school admissions. An Ipsos MORI public opinion poll of nearly 2000 adults reveals that, when put into context, ballots are thought by a third of people to be a fairer ‘tiebreaker’ than other methods for deciding places at over-subscribed schools. An international review meanwhile shows that ballots have been used extensively overseas. Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust which commissioned the research, said: “No child's educational future should be left purely to chance. But what this research suggests is that ballots -- alongside other criteria and guarantees - have a role to play in deciding which pupils secure places at oversubscribed schools.” “This review confirms the extensive use of ballots in school and university selection abroad. In other countries the assumption is that ballots are a fair and transparent way of deciding which children win school places when schools are over-subscribed. “The public survey suggests that when explained clearly and put into context, a high proportion of the UK public think that using random allocation is the fairer ‘tiebreaker’ when deciding school places. This is despite the fact that ballots have hardly been used at all in the UK.” The Ipsos MORI survey, carried out last March, found: When given the specific scenario of an over-subscribed faith school, more people (36%) think that a ballot is the fairer way of deciding which pupils get a place than those who think the decision should rest on judgements showing which families are most committed to the Christian faith (20%). When given the specific scenario of an over-subscribed comprehensive school, nearly as many people (32%) think that a ballot is the fairer way of deciding which pupils get a place as those who think it is fairer to decide on how near families live to the school (35%). Among parents from the higher social classes, 45 per cent of respondents think that a ballot is the fairer way of deciding which pupils get a place at an oversubscribed comprehensive school. However, when asked whether any one of eight listed methods of allocating school places were either fair or unfair, the majority of respondents felt unable to make this judgement for all but one of the cases. This uncertainty was particularly prevalent among those from less prosperous backgrounds. Respondents who did make a judgement believed that the fairest way of allocating school places was by giving priority to children who live closest to the school (52% viewing this as fair, compared with 9% unfair). Selecting children on the basis of a certain religion or faith emerged as the way of allocating school places most frequently identified as unfair, with 40% of respondents saying it was unfair compared with 8% who said it was fair. The next method most frequently identified as unfair was selecting places by ballot, with 28% of respondents believing it to be unfair and 9% believing it to be fair -- although a significant 63% were unable to make up their minds. The international review by RAND Europe found: Ballots have been deployed extensively across the world, in both school and university admissions. These include schools across the US, Sweden and New Zealand, and universities in Sweden and Holland. Ballots are not used in isolation. They are only deployed in conjunction with other criteria or constraints when determining which pupils or students secure places. Ballots are part of wider school reforms to introduce more choice for prospective pupils when applying for places at school, dealing with the problem of oversubscribed schools. Outside the UK at least, public concern has focused on which types of pupils enter the ballots - not whether they are fair or unfair. Sir Peter added: “One concern is that many respondents to our survey, particularly those from poor backgrounds, did not feel able to make judgements as to what are and are not fair ways of allocating pupils to over-subscribed schools. “These parents are less likely to be able to successfully negotiate the admissions process and to make the best school choices for their children. It is no coincidence, perhaps, that those schools with the most complicated methods of allocating places - which tend to be foundation and voluntary aided schools - are generally more socially exclusive.” The Trust commissioned Rand Europe to review the use of ballots overseas in school and university admissions. In parallel it commissioned Ipsos MORI to gauge public views in the UK on what are the fairest ways of allocating places at over-subscribed schools. In late March interviews were undertaken with a representative cross-section of 1,928 adults. Notes for News Editors: For further information www.suttontrust.com or ring Tim Devlin, Press Officer on 01205 290817. Boys too shy to apply for free university summer schoolsThe Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Sutton Trust are working together to fund an Academic Enrichment Programme to attract 900 gifted students in areas of deprivation in the immediate vicinities of Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham universities. The Sutton Trust is concerned that more than twice as many girls than boys aged 16 from state schools are applying to its free one week summer schools held every July at top-ranked universities. These are especially run for students from non professional homes who will be the first in their family to go to university or come from schools which send few or no students to leading universities. Applications for next year's summer schools at Bristol, Cambridge, Nottingham, Oxford and St Andrew's universities opened on-line this month using a new application system developed and run by UCAS. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, is making a special appeal to sixth form boys not to be shy and to put themselves forward. He said: "We have always had a majority of girls on our summer school courses but last year applications from boys dipped under 30% for the first time since we kept records. This is serious as we are concerned that boys from non-privileged homes are not getting the opportunities they need to go to a top university. Maybe they are too shy to apply." Last year applications from 3,329 students were received by the Trust according to the NFER (National Foundation for Educational Research) which monitored them. Of these 974 or 29% were from boys. This compares with nearly 30% in 2005 and 32% in 2004. Each year only about a third of students who attend the summer schools are boys. The Trust pays for about 650 students from across the country to spend a week in July at a choice of Bristol, Cambridge, Nottingham or Oxford universities. They will attend lectures, meet tutors and take part in the usual social activities with help from current students acting as mentors. Priority for places will be given to those students aged 16 and 17 (in Year 12) from non-privileged backgrounds whose parents are in non-professional occupations and did not go to university. Those who come from schools which do not normally send many students onto Higher Education will also be given preference. Anyone interested should call 0208 788 3223 for further details or apply on-line at www.suttontrust.com. The deadline for applications is Friday 2nd March 2007. Notes for News Editors: For further information www.suttontrust.com or ring Tim Devlin, Press Officer on 01205 290817. £1m programme to help non-privileged students attend top local universitiesThe Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Sutton Trust are working together to fund an Academic Enrichment Programme to attract 900 gifted students in areas of deprivation in the immediate vicinities of Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham universities. Over a period of three years, The Academic Enrichment Programme will aim to attract high potential students from non-professional backgrounds or from families with little tradition of higher education and who attend state schools with a low rate of progression to higher education. The programme, which will cost about £1m, will begin in September 2007 to attract 100 students a year to each of the three universities. It follows research which shows that young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more debt averse and, in the light of this year's introduction of top-up fees, more likely to want to stay with their families to reduce costs and maintain local friendships. The three cities have been chosen because of their low progression rate to higher education (25% in Manchester and Birmingham and 15% in Nottingham compared to young participation rate of over 30% and national participation rate of 43%). "In the most deprived areas of all three cities, within a short distance of University libraries, lecture halls and student residences, only one young person in ten actually ends up as an undergraduate," said Stephanie Bell-Rose, President of The Goldman Sachs Foundation. "The Goldman Sachs Foundation is delighted to be working in collaboration with the Sutton Trust and the Universities of Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham to help talented students realize their potential and acquire critical skills that they will need to succeed in a global society." Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, the educational charity which he set up in 1997 to help non-privileged children, said: "Research by the Sutton Trust shows that each year there are some 3,000 students from state schools who have the necessary A-level grades to attend the UK's leading universities but who - for a variety of reasons - end up elsewhere. I am delighted that we will be working in partnership with the Goldman Sachs Foundation to break down these educational barriers" "Over the life of the project we will be active in persuading the Government and other institutions to adopt the Academic Enrichment Programme model more widely across the education system." The Academic Enrichment programme was piloted at the University of Durham in 2003. It was sponsored by the Sutton Trust, the Ogden Trust and local development agencies. Students are selected at age 16/17 to go to a one-week's Summer School. They have two follow-up or revision sessions during the next year. They receive mentoring and e-mentoring from current undergraduates and are given leadership training and personal development programmes. Notes for Editors: The Goldman Sachs Foundation The Goldman Sachs Foundation is a global philanthropic organization funded by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. The Foundation's mission is to promote excellence and innovation in education and to improve the academic performance and lifelong productivity of young people worldwide. It achieves this mission through a combination of strategic partnerships, grants, loans, private sector investments, and the deployment of professional talent from Goldman Sachs. Founded in 1999, the Foundation has awarded grants of $94 million since its inception, providing opportunities for young people in more than 20 countries. The Sutton Trust The Sutton Trust is a charity founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl with the aim of providing educational opportunities for able young people from non-privileged backgrounds, and of improving social mobility. The activities of the Trust are aimed at helping able children who are educationally disadvantaged, by raising aspirations as well as academic achievement and it focuses on the following areas:
For further information www.suttontrust.com or ring Tim Devlin, Press Officer on 01205 290817 or 07939 544 487. Sutton Trust call for matched funding scheme needed to boost UK university fundraisingAn urgent step change is needed to boost fundraising in UK universities, a new report by the Sutton Trust has concluded. This must begin with a Government matched funding scheme of between £125 and £600m to encourage universities to develop their fundraising operations and increase their levels of endowment. The report - University Fundraising: An Update - finds that although development activities in UK universities have grown during the last three years, the sector continues to lag seriously behind the US, in terms of funds raised, rates of alumni giving and endowment levels. For example, the combined endowment of all UK universities is £7.8 billion, compared to Harvard's endowment of £13.4 billion and Yale's £8 billion. And the difference between the 10 largest university endowments in the UK and US has widened by some £12.5 billion in the last three years. The report also finds that significant fundraising activity remains the preserve of the academic 'philanthropic elite'. Only Oxford and Cambridge compare with leading American universities, raising £185 million in 2004-05, holding endowments totalling £6 billion and achieving alumni giving rates of 10 per cent. The remaining UK higher education institutions have a combined endowment of £1.9 billion, on average raised £1.6 million each and have annual giving rates of approximately one per cent. The report calls on the Government and universities to:
Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "Oxford and Cambridge and a handful of others are the only institutions where income from fundraising and endowments is a significant source of income. Changing this situation is certainly possible and the model should be American State universities, where annual fundraising and endowments have only been built up in the last 25 or so years. What is needed is a step change and to make this happen the Government needs to introduce a matched funding scheme of between £1 million and £5 million per institution. It should also simplify tax laws to encourage annual giving and introduce planned giving vehicles to encourage donations for endowments. Sutton Trust appoints its first Research DirectorDr Lee Elliot Major, news editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement, has been appointed the first Research Director of the Sutton Trust, the educational charity which helps non-privileged children, as from November 1st. Dr Elliot Major was the author of the Sutton Trust's study last June into the educational backgrounds of journalists, which revealed that over half of today's leading news journalists were educated at independent schools. Lee holds a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Sheffield as well as an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College, London. Before joining the THES, Lee was head of policy at the Wellcome Trust and an education journalist on The Guardian. He is the author of EurekaUK, a booklet published this year by Universities UK on 100 discoveries in UK universities over the last 50 years which have changed the world. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust which he set up in 1997, said: "Lee joining our team as our first Research Director should enable us to raise our game to the next level. Research is absolutely essential to our work not only in highlighting the issues we are dealing with and identifying which projects to support but also in evaluating the effectiveness of our support for them. We monitor carefully every project we fund." Lee said: " The Sutton Trust is renowned and respected for uncovering new evidence that challenges long held assumptions about the education system and exposes social equalities. I look forward to bolstering the Trust's research into how to tackle one of society's enduring problems: the ever widening gap in educational opportunities between rich and poor." £1.5M charitable donation to widen access to legal professionThe College of Law and the Sutton Trust today announced major donations worth £1.5m to promote access to the legal profession. The College which is donating £1.25m will work in partnership with the Sutton Trust, which is contributing a further £250,000 and will manage the project, to develop a national network to attract more people from less privileged backgrounds into the legal profession. The move, called "Pathways to Law", underlines the College's increasing influence and leadership in the sector, and both organisations' links with top universities in the College's five regional centres. The College, the leading educational charity for the legal profession, and the Sutton Trust, which provides educational opportunities for non-privileged children, are currently finalising discussions with top law firms' recruiters who support College programmes. It is anticipated that close to 750 students a year could be assisted by the year 2010. If they all were to gain training contracts they would form about 12.5% of the 6000 solicitors who start the next stage of their training. The programme is designed to attract fresh talent to the legal profession by targeting students from state schools who will be the first in their family to attend university, and whose parents are in non-professional occupations. It is aimed at schools which have a higher than average proportion of children on free school meals and very little history of sending young people to higher education. The programme starts with the selection of eligible students when they are 15-16. It will offer them careers advice and guidance on university applications in the sixth form, provide mentoring while they are at school and university, and introduce them to contacts in the legal world, which will lead to work experience and placements with law firms and chambers. The joint initiative has been prompted by a disturbing report by the Sutton Trust published last year on the educational backgrounds of the UK's top solicitors, barristers and judges. This found that three out of four top judges, more than two-thirds of top barristers and more than half the partners at leading law firms had been educated at private schools, which now account for 7% of the school population.1 Five universities will shortly be selected to work with the College's regional centres in London, Guildford, Birmingham, York and Chester, on the basis of their commitment to widening participation and their existing relationship with the college centres. The College project is modelled on an existing Sutton Trust Pathways to the Professions Project at the University of Edinburgh. This was selected last year as an example of best practice in widening participation by Universities UK and the Standing Conference of Principals. The University has tracked all students registered with the Pathways project (in law, medicine and veterinary science) since 2003, and a total of 176 Pathways to the Professions students have entered the University of Edinburgh, of whom 103 were studying for Law degrees. 74 of these were the first in their family to go to Higher Education. At least another 21 students went on to study law at other institutions. Professor Nigel Savage, Chief Executive of The College of Law, said: "This project is at the heart of what the College is all about these days and has the full backing of its executive and trustees. It is what distinguishes the College from our competitors. We are not about shareholder values. We are about investing in the future of the profession. By subscribing to College programmes law firms and law students are investing in our values and commitment to the next generation of lawyers. "In recent years we have invested heavily in all our programmes and in the fabric of the College. In particular, our recent new City centre in Moorgate attracted huge admiration and support. It is vital that our surpluses are used to enrich all our students and, in particular, by ensuring that they are not drawn disproportionately from a narrow section of society. By investing our own funds and working with those law firms that share our values, we can make a real difference." Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "The Sutton Trust is committed to combating educational inequality by innovative and entrepreneurial means. In a competitive area such as access to the legal profession, the extent to which applicants are considered plausible candidates can depend to a large part on their soft skills and cultural capital. This is something which middle class students take for granted and which gives them a decided advantage. I am delighted that the College is investing so much in our programme to give students from less well off backgrounds the same opportunities. I would also like to invite leading law firms to join with us in delivering this programme; their support will be crucial in ensuring its success." Cherie Booth QC supported the launch of the Pathways scheme: "I am delighted that the highly successful Pathways to Law project is being expanded across the country. I know from personal experience how difficult it is to enter the profession from a non-privileged background. The problem is not just lack of money, although this is a big obstacle, but also the lack of contacts - family or friends who can help to find you work experience and mini-pupillages. I have for some years been associated with the College's and Sutton Trust's initiatives to attract students from a wider range of backgrounds into Law through summer and winter schools, and so I hope that leading chambers will become fully involved in this important new venture. " Fiona Woolf, Law Society President, said: "Over recent years, the solicitors' profession has become more diverse but there is much more to do to make it truly reflective of society. I am delighted that The College of Law and the Sutton Trust have joined forces to pioneer this invaluable initiative which should enrich our profession by making the law more accessible to a wider number of people." Mr Stephen Hockman QC, Chairman of the Bar Council, said: "The Bar Council wants to ensure that entry to the Bar is diverse and from all sections of society. We welcome this initiative of The College of Law and the Sutton Trust which will support our own efforts to ensure that membership of the Bar is inclusive and open to all." 1) The Educational Backgrounds of the UK's top Solicitors, Barristers and Judges published by the Sutton Trust October 2005. View the report. The College of Law The College of Law is the largest provider of vocational legal education and training in Europe, training students to become solicitors and barristers in England and Wales and providing training after qualification. Incorporated in 1962, the College is an educational charity controlled by a Board of Governors and was granted a Royal Charter in 1975. With centres in Birmingham, Chester, Guildford, London and York, the College employs over 700 staff, including 350 teaching staff made up of solicitors and barristers. The College also offers a wide range of distance learning and continuing professional development to all those in the legal profession. For further information about the College please visit www.college-of-law.co.uk. The Sutton Trust The Sutton Trust is a charity founded in 1997 by Sir Peter Lampl with the aim of improving social mobility through providing educational opportunities for able young people from non-privileged backgrounds. The activities of the Trust are aimed at helping able children who are educationally disadvantaged by raising both their aspirations and their academic achievement. It funds a wide range of research and projects covering parenting and early years, schools, universities and access to the professions. For further information see www.suttontrust.com. Further information from: Tim Devlin Press Officer for The College of Law and the Sutton Trust on 01205 290817 or 07939 544 487. Independent school education found to boost grades and earnings in adulthoodOver half of the country's leading news journalists were educated in private schools - which account for just 7% of the school population - according to the latest survey carried out by the Sutton Trust, the educational charity, and published today. Academically able children from independent schools are likely to gain higher qualifications and earn considerably more than students of similar ability and background at state schools, according to a study which has traced nearly 300 students from their schools into the workplace over 23 years. The research from the Institute of Education, University of London, sponsored by the Sutton Trust, found that only 7.6% of those who went to state schools were earning over £70,000 a year in their thirties, compared to 18.2% of those who attended independent schools under the Assisted Places Scheme, and 28.6% who attended independent schools as full fee-payers. And looking back to their school days, Assisted Place holders attained more highly than their state educated counterparts at both GCSE and A level - and better than might have been predicted on the basis of their socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Worryingly, though, working class students in both sectors did worse than was expected. The report (Educational and Career Trajectories of Assisted Place Holders) by Sally Power, Geoff Whitty and Emma Wisby, followed 62 academically able pupils who went to independent schools on Assisted Places in 1982, and compared their paths with 152 students of similar intelligence and backgrounds who went to state schools, as well as 82 full-fee payers at private schools. The study also finds that over one third of AP holders went on to an ’elite’ university compared to less than one in ten from state schools. More also went to Oxbridge, gaining places with lower A level grades than their state-schooled colleagues. Even those AP holders who did not go on to university were found to be doing better than their peers, with the majority in professional and managerial occupations. However while the degree results of AP holders compared favourably with those from maintained schools, they were the least likely of the three categories to complete their university studies, with nearly one in ten dropping out or failing. The researchers conclude that for many the Assisted Places Scheme provided a pathway to high level qualifications, elite university places and occupational success. But the story is not wholly positive. Many of those who benefited from the scheme were not culturally and economically disadvantaged. And those from working class backgrounds holding Assisted Places were more likely leave school at 16, to achieve lower-than-expected A Level results, and to express concerns over fitting in to the more socially-exclusive environment of their private school. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said that it should be possible to overcome the problems of the Assisted Places Scheme, whilst retaining its benefits, by making private schools less socially exclusive. He commented, ”This research shows clearly that there is a very strong case for opening up top independent day schools to talented pupils from non-privileged backgrounds, so that they too can benefit from the academic and social advantages a private education brings. What is more, thanks to the Open Access initiative jointly funded by the Sutton Trust and the Girls’ Day School Trust, where all places are awarded on merit alone, we know how this can be done effectively.” Professor Geoff Whitty, Director of the Institute of Education and co-author of the report, said, ”The assisted places scheme clearly benefited many of the individuals who took part in it, but by no means all of them. It also took some of the brightest pupils away from the maintained sector. State and private schools need to learn from each other and to work more closely together.” Over half country's top journalists went to private schoolsOver half of the country's leading news journalists were educated in private schools - which account for just 7% of the school population - according to the latest survey carried out by the Sutton Trust, the educational charity, and published today. The proportion of independently educated top newspaper editors, columnists and news presenters and editors has actually increased over the last 20 years, the research reveals. A survey also finds widespread fears in the trade that the high costs of training and low pay and security at junior levels will mean that an even a higher proportion of those from privileged backgrounds will dominate the news media in the future. The Trust's research detailed for the first time the educational backgrounds of a list of the UK's 100 leading national newspaper editors, columnists, leading broadcast editors and news presenters both today and 20 years ago. It found that over half (54%) of today's top journalists were educated in private schools which account for 7% of the school population. A further 33% went to grammar schools, and just 14% attended comprehensives schools, which now educate almost 90% of children. In 1986, 49% of the top journalists were educated privately, 44% were educated at grammar schools and 6% at comprehensives. The survey also reveals that of the 81% of the leading journalists in 2006 who had been to university, over half were educated at Oxbridge, including a third who went to one institution, Oxford. Among the 1986 sample, 78% were university graduates, 67% of whom had been to Oxbridge, including two-fifths to Oxford. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, which he set up in 1997 to promote social mobility by providing educational opportunities to young people from non privileged backgrounds, said: "This is another example of the predominance of those who are privately educated in influential positions in society, which follows similar findings from surveys of top lawyers and politicians. It cannot be healthy for our media leaders to come mostly from backgrounds that are so different from the vast majority of the population. The newspaper and broadcasting industries are not attracting a rich diversity of recruits and should look urgently at their recruitment processes. Part of the wider solution is to open up independent day schools to all talented youngsters, not just those whose families can afford the fees. We also need to address the under representation of state school students, particularly those from less privileged backgrounds, at our leading universities." Lee Elliot Major, News Editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement, who led the research, said: "What the research does not suggest is that editors routinely favour those from privileged educational backgrounds. There were a number of reasons for this. They range from: low pay and insecurity at junior levels; the high costs of living in London; the increasing costs of postgraduate courses; a bias towards those with family or personal connections within the industry amid a largely informal but highly competitive recruitment process; and finally the stronger skills and attributes attributed at an earlier age by those from private schools." Pioneer project to open up independent schools to all children on merit is a 'great success'A five year evaluation of Britain's only project to open up a private day secondary school to all children on the basis of merit rather than wealth through the Open Access scheme at The Belvedere Girls' School in the Toxteth area of Liverpool confirms its success in raising opportunities and attainment for a wide and socially diverse group of youngsters. Its success raises questions as to whether this should be extended to other schools. The scheme has been pioneered since 2000 through a joint partnership between the Sutton Trust, established in 1997 to improve social mobility, and the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST), which owns the school as part of a network of 26 successful schools. Five years on, a report by Alan Smithers and Pamela Robinson of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham has concluded: "Judged against its internal aims, Open Access at The Belvedere can be counted a great success. It has achieved its main objective of opening up the School to high ability children from low-income homes. Pupils, parents and teachers have commented very favourably. Social mixing has been good in contrast to what has been reported for a forerunner, the Assisted Places Scheme. Open Access has shown how the important resource of independent schools could be incorporated into a national system." The researchers found that the proportion of girls eligible for free school meals admitted during the first five years of Open Access was 33% - more than twice the national average - and that the social mix of children at the school now reflects the social mix in Merseyside. Last summer when the first cohort of girls sat their GCSEs, the school achieved its best ever results and became the top performer in Liverpool, with 99% of students achieving at least five good GCSE (with grades A*-C). Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, hopes that the successful scheme will ultimately be taken up by Government and expanded initially to 12 - but eventually to 100 or more - independent day schools. He writes in a foreword: "The positive results of this evaluation reinforce my conviction that Open Access is the most effective means of decisively ending the divide between the state and private sectors of education." Barbara Harrison, Chief Executive of the GDST, adds "We're delighted by the achievements of the Open Access scheme at The Belvedere School, which have enabled all our girls to achieve their full potential. We're committed to maintaining those principles of access and educational excellence as we take the school forward into its next phase of development." The School is continuing its pioneering history by becoming part of the Government's Academy programme. The researchers end their evaluation by saying: "For the moment The Belvedere Scheme remains a demonstration of what could be achieved were there the will." |