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Student applications rise for top university summer schoolsA record number of nearly 2,700 sixth formers from state schools and colleges from across Britain have applied this year for 644 places at five free week-long summer schools which the Sutton Trust sponsors for students from non traditional backgrounds at top universities. The schools for students in Year 12 aged 16+ start next week at Bristol, Cambridge, Nottingham, Oxford and St Andrew's universities. The figures from the National Foundation for Educational Research show that the number of students applying has risen by 5.9% from 2494 to 2642 which is more than 4 applicants for every place.
The summer schools are designed to give a taste of university life to encourage applications from students from non-traditional backgrounds aged 16+ in Year 12. These include those with no family history of university attendance, those whose parents are in non-professional occupations or who attend schools with virtually no history of sending pupils to these universities. National school bus network imperative for environment, safety and school choiceA new report, published today, urges the Government to include plans for a national network of dedicated school buses in its forthcoming Education Bill, to address a range of pressing social, environmental and economic challenges. The report - authored by the Sutton Trust, and published by the Social Market Foundation and Policy Exchange - argues that politicians should act on the positive results of a number of local school bus schemes, and roll out the initiative nationwide. Pilot schemes run by FirstGroup have shown that yellow buses can cut congestion and are popular amongst students, parents and schools. They could also save road users valuable time, lower greenhouse gas emissions, increase safety and reduce truancy. Crucially, the report warns that the Government-s efforts to increase school choice will be thwarted if parents have no alternative but to send their children to the nearest school because of a lack of affordable transport. Yellow buses would help to extend school choice to all. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, commented, "Nearly 20 percent of traffic on the UK's roads during the morning rush hour is on the school run, and this is increasing. It leads directly to as many as 40 deaths and 900 serious injuries each year, and contributes over two million extra tonnes of carbon dioxide annually to the atmosphere. And the lack of adequate school transport has a social cost too, because it restricts the school choices of families, particularly those in disadvantaged circumstances. "School buses would not only help to solve these problems, but the model developed by The Boston Consulting Group shows that they make sound economic sense, too. BCG estimate a yellow bus scheme for primary schools would deliver benefits of around £458 million a year - a return of two-and-a-half times the annual £184 million cost." The report will be launched with a yellow bus outside the Houses of Parliament and will be followed by a seminar to debate the report's conclusions. Panel speakers include Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of The Sutton Trust; Barry Sheerman MP, Chairman of the Education Select Committee; and Damian Green MP, former Shadow Secretary of State for Education. For more information and copies of the summary and full publication, please contact -
Top legal jobs still dominated by private schoolsGreater access to the legal profession is called for by Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, after the publication of a disturbing report which reveals the narrow educational backgrounds of the country's top lawyers. Top judges, top barristers and top solicitors are still overwhelmingly privately educated and have attended the leading dozen universities, particularly Oxbridge. The position has not changed significantly in the last 15 years, according to the analysis undertaken by the Sutton Trust. The survey found that in 2004 three out of four judges, more than two-thirds of barristers at top chambers and more than half the partners at leading law firms, had been educated in the private sector, which accounts for 7% of the school population and 17% of university entrants. Half the current judges went to boarding schools which educate less than 1% of children. While there has been little change in the backgrounds of barristers and judges since the late 1980s, the survey found that the law firms did open up to a generation of partners educated in state secondary schools in the Sixties. However, this is not likely to be a lasting change as 71% of younger partners in 2004 were privately educated. Although the profession is marginally less dominated by Oxford and Cambridge graduates than in the past - in 1989 88% of judges had been to Oxbridge, compared to 81% in 2004 - the search for talent still occurs within narrow confines. Sir Peter said: "Research we funded by the London School of Economics published last month showed that social mobility has declined in Britain over the last 30 years and Britain together with the US has the lowest mobility of the eight industrial countries surveyed. The educational background of leading judges, barristers and solicitors is a manifestation of this lack of mobility at the top end. Significant progress clearly needs to be made on a number of fronts: providing open access to independent day schools along the lines of the successful scheme at the Belvedere School in Liverpool; encouraging more able students from state schools to study law at the leading universities; and widening access to barristers' chambers and top firms of solicitors. This will not only ensure the very best succeed as lawyers, but the judiciary will become more representative of the people it serves." "The Sutton Trust supports several programmes designed to tackle these anomalies, such as 'Young Graduates for Lawyers' run by Global Graduates, Legal Summer Schools run by The College of Law in London, and 'Pathways to the Professions' run by Edinburgh University, but it is clear that more widespread action is needed to have a major impact," Sir Peter added. Disturbing finding from LSE study - social mobility in Britain lower than other advanced countries and declining
In a study sponsored by the Sutton Trust, researchers from Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics1 have compared the life chances of British children with those in other advanced countries, and the results are disturbing. They have found that social mobility in Britain - the way in which someone's adult outcomes are related to their circumstances as a child - is lower than in Canada, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. And while the gap in opportunities between the rich and poor is similar in Britain and the US, in the US it is at least static, while in Britain it is getting wider. A careful comparison reveals that the USA and Britain are at the bottom with the lowest social mobility. Norway has the greatest social mobility, followed by Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Germany is around the middle of the two extremes, and Canada was found to be much more mobile than the UK. Comparing surveys of children born in the 1950s and the 1970s the researchers went on to examine the reason for Britain's low, and declining, mobility. They found that it is in part due to the strong and increasing relationship between family income and educational attainment. For these children, additional opportunities to stay in education at age 16 and age 18 disproportionately benefited those from better off backgrounds. For a more recent cohort born in the early 1980s the gap between those staying on in education at age 16 narrowed, but inequality of access to higher education has widened further: while the proportion of people from the poorest fifth of families obtaining a degree has increased from 6% to 9%, the graduation rates for the richest fifth have risen from 20% to 47%. The researchers concluded, "The strength of the relationship between educational attainment and family income, especially for access to higher education, is at the heart of Britain's low mobility culture and what sets us apart from other European and North American countries." Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust said "These findings are truly shocking. The results show that social mobility in Britain is much lower than in other advanced countries and is declining - those from less privileged backgrounds are more likely to continue facing disadvantage into adulthood, and the affluent continue to benefit disproportionately from educational opportunities. I established the Sutton Trust to help address this issue, and to ensure that all young people, regardless of their background, have access to the most appropriate educational opportunities, right from early years care through to university." 1The research was conducted by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Steve Machin at the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics. An innovative approach to e-mentoring for state school students interested in a career in healthcareThe Brightside Trust in partnership with web design agency, the OTHER media, have created www.brightjournals.com, a site which uses a weblogging system to allow volunteer undergraduate mentors and student mentees to communicate with each other easily and securely. The website includes the following features;
For more information click on the PowerPoint document below or visit www.brightjournals.com Download powerpoint "How to use Bright Journals" (539KB) Oxford Access Scheme and Sutton Trust launch the Ambassador ProgrammeThe Oxford Access Scheme, based at the University of Oxford, is to encourage 100 children aged 13 and 14 from schools all over the country to become its ambassadors. They will follow a four-year programme of activities in a bid to raise the aspirations of talented students from schools which do not send children to top universities. The Oxford Access Scheme Ambassador Programme, sponsored by the Sutton Trust educational charity and a private donor, will be aimed at schools with no record of sending students to Oxbridge and little history of sending students to any of the other 17 leading universities belonging to the Russell Group. This programme is the latest in a number of innovative projects created by the Oxford Access Scheme, a student-led organisation set up by Oxford students and tutors in 1990-1 to encourage more students from inner city and lower-income backgrounds, especially from minority ethnic groups, to go on to university. One Year 9 pupil will be chosen this summer from each of 100 schools and colleges to participate in four years of residential and day events leading up to university application. They will attend the Aspire, Build and Challenge Summer School for Year 10 (children aged 14-15), a team-building residential in Year 11, followed by the Shadowing Programme and one of the Personal Development Summer Schools for Year 12 run by the Oxford Access Scheme. Students will be selected on the basis that they will remain on the programme for four years. Maxine Lyseight, Co-ordinator of the Oxford Access Scheme, said: "We are very keen that these students serve as Oxford Access Scheme's ambassadors to their schools, helping to diffuse information about other OAS initiatives amongst their peers and encouraging the young people around them to fulfil their potential. This ground-breaking programme is designed to support its participants through the crucial years of their school lives, enabling them to embrace as broad a range of options for their future as possible." Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, which was set up in 1997 to help non-privileged children, said: "Our research shows that there are currently hundreds of children in many schools who are talented enough to go to Oxford and other top universities but do not go there for a number of reasons. Some underestimate their own talents, and their exam success is known too late in the admissions process. Others fear they won't get in to the top universities, or fit in if they are offered a place. We have been working with the University of Oxford since 1997 on Year 12 summer schools and know how positive they can be. But we also know that there are some people who slip through the net before they get to that stage. The University is to be congratulated on its support for this latest imaginative OAS scheme to reach them progressively from the age of 13+." The closing date for applications is Friday 27th May 2005. For further information go to: http://www.oxford-access.org.uk/ or contact Maxine Lyseight, Coordinator, the Oxford Access Scheme, tel: 01865 280 649, or email: maxine.lyseight@admin.ox.ac.uk. The Sutton Trust is funding two summer schools with UCL this year.UCL/British Museum Ancient Egyptology Summer School This subject-themed summer school ran for the first time in 2004, providing 30 state school students from around England with the chance to study Egyptology and archaeology. Participants had unprecedented access to original source material at the British Museum and the UCL Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, and benefited from the supervision and guidance of leading experts in their field. This year's Residential Summer School is open to students who are attending a state school or college in England and are interested in studying at university. The week consists of a series of lectures, seminars and discussion groups, taught by lecturers from the Institute of Archaeology and Petrie Museum, UCL and curators and academics from the British Museum. Students will develop their ability to question, to analyse critically and to synthesise an argument from a number of sources. There were six applications to UCL's Institute of Archaeology following last year's summer school. Feedback was extremely positive and the Sutton Trust is pleased to be funding this summer school again in 2005. The deadline for applications is Friday 22nd April 2005. For more information and to request/download an application form, go to: The UCL and British Museum Summer School 2005 Dick Whittington Medical Summer SchoolThis new medical summer school is a non-residential work experience week which will be held at the Archway campus of University College London, within the Whittington Hospital. It is open to Year 11 students from the borough of Islington who are thinking about a career in medicine. Students will be taught by doctors and teachers from the UCL Medical School. They will meet and examine real patients, visit different hospital departments and neighbouring GP practices, and will have the chance to watch an operation. There will also be sessions on applying to medical school, the BMAT (biomedical admissions test) and student finances. More information can be found at: http://www.pcps.ucl.ac.uk/dickwhittington. Teachers support Tomlinson, but more cautious over academiesNearly two out of three secondary school teachers in England and Wales support the Tomlinson Review of the school curriculum for 14-19 year olds, according to a MORI survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust and published today. The survey, part of MORI's Teachers' Omnibus carried out among a representative sample of 364 teachers last November and December, found that only one fifth of teachers disagreed with the proposals for a four-level diploma, including a minimal 6% strongly disagreeing. This compares with 21% strongly agreeing, and 41% agreeing. But the survey shows less enthusiasm for the Government's plans to set up 200 academies, at a cost of over £20 million each. Only 6% of teachers strongly supported this initiative, while 20% strongly opposed it. Overall the teachers were split down the middle, with 36% in favour, 37% against, and a significant 20% undecided. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "These two reforms will shape secondary education for years to come and so the opinions of teachers - who have to make them work on the ground - are critical. The view of the Sutton Trust is generally in line with the findings of the survey: we welcome Tomlinson's attempts to broaden the curriculum, but have some concerns about the academies programme, particularly the high cost per academy." NOTESThe Teachers' Omnibus survey was carried out by MORI Social Research Institute between 5th November and 8th December 2004. The sample of 364 teachers was representative of the population of teachers in England and Wales by sex, age, Government Office Region and phase. Data have been weighted at the analysis stage. Match funding schemes would boost fundraising for UK universitiesThe Government should introduce a match funding scheme to increase private donations to UK universities, according to a report published today by the Council for Advancement and Support for Education (CASE), and sponsored by the Sutton Trust. Such a scheme would raise more money to support teaching and research, widen access and provide scholarships for science and other hard-pressed subjects; a topical initiative at a time when a number of high profile departmental closures have occurred. The report highlights successful initiatives in the USA, where 24 states had created programmes as of 2002, and similar programs in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore that have increased gifts to universities by matching them with public funds. The paper reports on additional research that investigated a number of US match funding schemes and found that between 2000 and 2003 these schemes raised $363m (£191m), of which $276m (£145m) came from private sources - a return on state funding of over 300%. In Ontario, Canada, universities raised CAN$250m (£109m), 2½ times their target, in just two years, which state contributions increased to CAN$500m (£217m). The fund will be used to provide assistance to 166,000 students over the next ten years. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "This report shows clearly that schemes which match funding to increase both universities' fundraising capacity and donations from private sources are widespread and have been effective. There is the potential to raise millions of pounds for UK universities if the Government provided matched funding. The money could be directed to help build fundraising capacity, preserve key departments and to widen access for students from non-privileged backgrounds. Importantly, the scheme, if properly structured, would benefit the whole sector by kick starting fundraising at those universities which are just beginning to fundraise and by raising the game of those who have already invested in development offices." "I believe there is a growing consensus that match funding is the way forward, and so I am delighted that Gordon Brown's Pre Budget Report sets out provision for a pilot programme. We are finally recognising that fostering a climate of private giving - such as exists in the US and elsewhere - is crucial if we want to maintain the position of UK universities on the world stage", added Sir Peter. Joanna Motion, Vice President for International Operations of CASE, said: "These schemes are not a substitute for public funding but are an effective use of public funds to lever in and increase private support and to build strategic links between universities and their constituencies." She mentioned, however, that a severe shortage of fundraising executives was a major constraint on increasing philanthropic support for UK universities. NOTESThe Sutton Trust was set up by Sir Peter Lampl in 1997 to help non-privileged students. It has so far given £14m to a wide variety of projects including university summer schools and open access schemes. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is the largest international association of educational institutions, serving more than 3,200 universities, colleges, independent schools and related organisations in more than 40 countries. CASE has offices in Washington DC and in London. Last May a Government Task Force, chaired by Professor Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, of which Sir Peter Lampl was one of the four members, recommended that the Government should consider introducing match funding schemes similar to those in the USA. The Government is expected to publish its response to the task force report this week. More poor students going to top universitiesThe number of students from poorer backgrounds admitted to the UK's leading universities has increased significantly over the last five years, according to the Sutton Trust's further analysis of university admissions statistics. The growth in entrants from areas where very few students progress to university - low participation neighbourhoods - was found to be significantly higher than those from more affluent areas, and this has been accomplished over a period which has seen an improvement in the average A-level attainment of entrants to leading universities. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "Last week we showed that state school admissions to our leading universities had grown by 35% between Autumn 1997 and 2002, compared with a 22% overall increase in numbers. Some commentators argued that this did not necessarily represent a major step towards widening access but our latest analysis shows that a number of these entrants are from poorer backgrounds. Since 1997, there has been a 49% growth in the admission of students from low participation neighbourhoods, well over the 20% increase experienced by more affluent areas" The Trust's work also shows that since 1997 the average A level attainment of entrants to leading universities had increased from 26.4 in 1997/98 to 26.8 in 2002/03, a clear indication that these universities are not dumbing down to admit extra students. "This is a most welcome turn-around in life chances and suggests the beginning of a much needed levelling of the playing field as far as university admissions are concerned. Furthermore it is being achieved without any dumbing down. But the numbers are still small. Despite accounting for 30% of young people nationally, students from low participation areas make up only 8% of entrants to the top universities and based on their A-level performance there should be more of them." added Sir Peter. NOTES TO EDITORS
Source: HESA/HEFCE
Source: HESA/HEFCE
Source: The Times League Tables, based on HESA data. Benchmarks row detracts from rapid rise in state school entrants to top universitiesThe row about the increase in the benchmarks for state school students attending our leading universities is hiding the truth about the rapid growth of state school students with high qualifications attending them, according to a new report by the Sutton Trust published today. The number of students from state schools going to 13 leading universities rose from 16,900 in 1997/98 to 22,800 in 2002/03 - a rise of 5,900 or 35% - accounting for almost all the growth in the number of undergraduate students at these universities They now form 68% of new admissions instead of 61% five years ago. The Sutton Trust report goes on to say that the new government benchmarks - which use total UCAS points rather than A level grades - cannot be justified for top universities as these universities use A level grades to select students. "The furore over the new higher benchmarks should not detract from two incontrovertible facts which lie at the heart of this debate," said Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust. "On the one hand, we have a real success story. Initiatives such as summer schools and better school-university links have encouraged thousands more young people from state schools to attend our top universities. "On the other, we face a continuing challenge. There are still 3,000 state school students who each year achieve the A levels necessary to enter our leading universities, but who, for a variety of reasons, do not end up there. More than anything these findings demonstrate that the deep-rooted inequalities in our education system can be - and are being - addressed without compromising the high standards of our top universities." "Ministers should not allow the controversy over the new benchmarks to undermine the success of a range of outreach initiatives. They should instead ask the new Director of Fair Access, Professor Sir Martin Harris, to work with universities to continue to develop their outreach activities and to develop benchmarks which reflect their actual admission standards, setting challenging but realistic goals for the future", added Sir Peter. Read the full report 'State school admissions to our leading universities' here. NOTES
Source: Government university admissions data
The Cambridge Summer School is co-funded with Glenn Earle, a partner at Goldman Sachs. As well as these six summer schools, the Sutton Trust sponsors two summer schools for further education students at Cambridge University and one at Southampton University. There is also an annual Sutton Trust summer school for about 110 teachers from state schools and colleges at Oxford University. This programme and the Sutton Trust Summer School at Oxford is part-funded by the University's HEFCE funding for widening participation initiatives. Prime Minister speaks at Fabian lecture sponsored by the Sutton TrustIn a major Fabian lecture on education sponsored by the Sutton Trust, on the eve of the publication of the government's five year plan, Tony Blair set out the principles behind the next stage of education reform. The Prime Minister argued that radical reform was necessary to raise standards further and to tackle "the entrenched three-tierism of the past: excellence for a minority, mediocrity for the majority, outright failure at the bottom". The event was held at the Institute of Education, University of London. For full text of the speech, click here Half the country would send their children to private schoolsHalf the parents in the country would be likely to send their children to private schools if they could afford to do so according to a MORI survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust, and published today. Following these findings, the Sutton Trust has renewed its call to the Government to expand the very successful £2m a year pilot open access scheme at the Belvedere School in Liverpool to at least a dozen other schools as a first step to introducing it at 100 top independent day schools in the country. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman and founder of the Sutton Trust, has called on the Government to look more closely at the scheme following Charles Clarke, the Secretary of State for Education's remarks at a conference of independent schools earlier this month when he called for a widening of collaboration between the two sectors of education and revealed that the Government will be funding state school pupils to attend independent schools at the age of 16 for teaching in certain subjects such as Classics and Further Maths. Sir Peter said: "Open access at independent secondary schools for our most able children is only a step away from this and as the MORI survey shows, it would have the support of the majority of parents in this country. Opening up 100% of the places at our top independent schools, on the basis of merit and regardless of income, would change the nature of those schools and would lead to the removal of the unparalleled educational apartheid which exists in this country. A recent study for the Sutton Trust has shown that the gap in performance between independent and state schools is the highest of any advanced country." The Sutton Trust has sent Mr Clarke a copy of its proposals in a new report - Open Access: A Practical Way Forward - New Developments - which sets out the arguments for Open Access and describes the success of the Liverpool Scheme which it has been funding for the past four years jointly with the Girls' Day School Trust, which owns The Belvedere School. The families of more than 70% of the pupils at the school receive help to pay all or part of the school's fees, resulting in a much wider social mix of pupils than before. In the report, support for the scheme comes from Dr Martin Stephen, High Master of Manchester Grammar School and this year's chairman of the Headmasters' Conference (HMC). He says: "We are committed to needs-blind entry. We would have no hesitation in becoming part of an open access scheme." His remarks are echoed by other heads of the most successful schools in the country including: Graham Able, Master of Dulwich College and last year's Chairman of the HMC; Tony Evans, Headmaster of King's College, Wimbledon, also a former Chairman of the HMC; Roger Dancey, Chief Master of King Edward's School, Birmingham; and David Levin, Headmaster of the City of London School for Boys. This survey by MORI was carried out between April 29th and May 4th 2004 among a nationally representative quota sample of 644 parents throughout Great Britain who were interviewed in more than 200 areas. Asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the proposal that all children should have the opportunity to go to private school regardless of their family's income at the Government's or taxpayer's expense, 47% agreed compared with 30% who disagreed. 46% of parents in social class AB disagree, compared to only 18% of parents in social class DE. Asked whether they would send their children to a private school if money was not an issue, 50% said yes (22% definitely and 28% probably), compared to 44% who said they would either probably or definitely not do so (29% probably not and 13% definitely not). 50% also agreed with a proposal for pupils to be selected by an entrance test at the ages of 11 and 12 to go to different types of private or state secondary schools with 35% disagreeing. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of the sample agreed with the statement that pupils from state schools are at a disadvantage to private schools pupils when they apply for places at top universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, while only19% disagreed. Read the full report 'Open Access: A Practical Way Forward - New Developments, June 2004' here Read the MORI Parents Survey 2004 here Most students still want to go to universityMost young people - in fact 70% - aged 11-16 still say that they are likely to go into higher education according to a poll of more than 2000 state school students carried out by MORI commissioned by the Sutton Trust. The poll was conducted between January and March in 254 schools and coincided with the highly-publicised debate about the introduction of top-up fees for students. The survey showed however that the proportion of students who said that they were very likely to go to university has dropped from 40% last year to 33%. The timing of the survey may go some way to explaining the fall in the relative levels of certainty expressed by young people, according to MORI. This may also explain says MORI the significant increase in the number of young people who are not sure whether or not they will go to university. This has increased from 14% (one in seven) last year to 18% (nearly one in five) this year. The proportion of boys who say that they are either very or fairly likely to go to university has declined from 70% last year to 66% this year. Boys are now significantly more likely than girls (33% versus 22%) to give not getting good enough exam results as a reason for being unlikely to go on into higher education. Minority ethnic pupils are more certain than white pupils to think they are likely to go into higher education (80% as compared with 68%). The survey found that only a minority of young people (18%) says that they are unlikely to go into higher education because they are worried about getting into debt as a student. But this rises to 30% of young people in households where no adult is in paid work. The survey also found that 85% of state school pupils rate their school as fairly good, very good or excellent and 66% said they enjoyed school most of the time. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said "It is excellent news that, in spite of the debate about top-up fees this year, aspirations remain extremely high amongst our young people. However, the increase of uncertainty amongst this age group, with more students saying they are fairly, rather than very likely to progress, is a reminder that there is no room for complacency in our attitude to widening participation. "While only a minority of young people overall are worried by the prospect of student debt, these findings show that for students in the lowest income homes this prospect is a real block on their ambition. We must make sure that there is sufficient help and support available for all young people to be able to realise their high aspirations when the time comes." Read the full report 'MORI Schools Survey 2004: Student Omnibus' here Full fee paying foreign students soar at British universitiesOver the last 6 years the number of foreign undergraduates paying full fees at UK universities has increased by almost a half. Home undergraduates have increased by 15% while the number of undergraduates from EU countries who are subsidised has declined according to research by the Sutton Trust, the educational trust set up by Sir Peter Lampl in 1997. The rate of increase at 18% for full fee paying foreign undergraduates has been particularly sharp in the past year. The figures also reveal an even more rapid increase in foreign postgraduate students who pay full fees. Their number has increased by 71%, four times the rate of home postgraduates in the last six years. In contrast to overseas undergraduates where the number of EU undergraduates has declined, overseas postgraduates show a very high increase in both EU and non EU postgraduates at 48% and 83% respectively. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, says, "These figures show that full fee paying overseas students are increasingly an important source of income to cash-strapped UK universities. However, as the recent British Council and universities UK reports make clear, UK universities are facing increasing competition in the global market place and for financial and competitive reasons it is important that we maintain our share of these students." At approximately 10% of all undergraduates, on an overall basis foreign undergraduates are a relatively small proportion of the total but at some top-ranked universities, such as LSE, UCL and Imperial College, their effect is much more significant. A top ten list of universities, admitting undergraduates, with the highest proportions of full fee-paying students is attached. Major universities with a high proportion of full fee payers are Cranfield with 87%, the London School of Economics with 73% and the School of Oriental and African Studies with 57%.
An independent assessment concludes that the chief concerns in England should be maths education and adult education.An independent assessment of 16 international comparisons of student performance in over the last 40 years concludes that the chief concerns in England should be maths education and adult education. In both areas England languishes near the bottom of a league table of developed countries. On a more positive note, however English students perform above average in science and do well in literacy. The survey, a two year study by Professor Alan Smithers of the Centre for Education and Employment at the University of Liverpool commissioned by the Sutton Trust, is the first attempt to bring together the results of the principle international surveys of student performance by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement and by the OECD. It pours considerable doubts on an optimistic recent survey of English students' performance in maths by the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) published in 2001 which placed England 8th. It says the interpretation of its results is flawed. Significantly, it also found that students at independent schools in England perform better than students anywhere else in the world, but also that the achievement gap between our independent and maintained sectors is the widest in the world. Professor Smithers concludes: "Taking the findings at face value, it looks as if for England the chief concern should be maths education. Apart from the flawed test in PISA 2000, the country consistently comes well down the ranking tables. England has performed relatively well in international science tests since the 1990s, and also in literacy studies. But England has not shown up well in studies of adult literacy and it emerges as having a relatively low rate of successful completion of upper secondary education. It is arguable, therefore, that any gains in secondary education run the risk of dissipation in the post-school years." In his critique of the most recent PISA survey Professor Smithers draws attention to the length and wordiness of the maths questions: "The extent of maths testing was so limited that one wonders if it can bear the weight that has been put on it. Furthermore, items were designed so as not to need particular calculation skills and the wrong answers could be awarded the marks if an appropriate method had been adopted. With arithmetic being a particular hazard for pupils in England this could have worked to the country's advantage." Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "While it is good news that England has performed relatively well in science and literacy, our poor performance in maths is a cause for concern as is our performance in adult literacy. Our staying on rate after 16 is much lower than other advanced countries and the Government's recent introduction of education maintenance allowances to provide financial support for students after 16 and more vocational course to make school more relevant are important here. The findings that our independent schools performed the best of any schools in the world and the performance gap between our independent and state sectors is the widest in the world indicate that not only those who can afford to pay should have access to independent schools."
Read the full report 'An Assessment of International Comparisons' here Teachers support US-style SAT for Year 13 studentsA MORI survey of teachers at secondary schools in England and Wales commissioned by the Sutton Trust has found that a majority of teachers would support both the introduction of an American style SAT test for university entry and the proposal that university places should be awarded to students after their A level results become known. Nearly two-thirds of teachers (65%) agreed that the award of university places should be made after young people receive their results; only 20% disagreed. A third of teachers strongly agreed. In November 2003 universities UK and the Government both expressed support for the principle of post-qualification applications for university places. The majority of respondents (55%) agreed that a test of academic potential such as an American style 'SAT' test would be useful in addition to A levels as a guide for Year 13 students who want to apply to university; only 29% disagreed. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: "The Trust believes that students from schools with low examination performance are penalised by the fact that applications are made and university places offered before A level results are known. A trial of the American SAT in British schools showed that as an additional measure to A levels, it can identify talent from schools with low examination performance. It is good to see that the majority of teachers support both these moves. The support for an SAT-style test is quite surprising as we expected teachers might oppose another 16 plus examination - however limited." The survey also questioned teachers about their views on an 'English Baccalaureate" and here views were split: 41% of teachers in England disagreed with the idea as compared with 36% who were in favour. Sutton Trust welcomes Professor Schwartz's Recommendationshttp://www.admissions-review.org.uk
The Admissions Review committee chaired by Professor Schwartz,
looking at the current UK university admissions system, has
recommended that an Amercian-style aptitude test should be used alongside A levels to
identify bright students who have the potential to succeed despite having low exam results.
This is an area of great interest for the Sutton Trust who have previously commissioned Transport Select committee hearing on school transportThe Sutton Trust gave evidence to the House of Commons' Transport Select Committee on home to school transport. Tessa Stone, the Trust's Director, told the all-party committee of MPs that only a solution which includes American-style yellow school buses will be able to discourage parents from driving their children to school. Introducing school buses would have benefits which go beyond cutting congestion and pollution, and saving parents time. Dr. Stone said, "This is a key social inclusion issue. If you look at the distances travelled to school by children from different income bands, there is a very marked difference in those averages." Children from families in the highest income quintile travel more than twice as far to school as those from families in the lowest income quintile. School buses would extend school choice - which is only theoretically available for the least well-off - to everyone. Read the Sutton Trust's submission to the select committee here |
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