Sir Peter Lampl: letter on Oxbridge Admissions

Your leader “Admissions Omissions” rightly recognises the role that state schools must play in encouraging able students to apply to Oxford and Cambridge. Our research has shown that a third of bright but disadvantaged students fall back significantly between the ages of 11 and 16. More must be done to stretch able students in state schools.

We work with Oxford and Cambridge through residential summer schools to show young people and their teachers that both universities are welcoming to state school students. However, the universities should consider their own admissions procedures carefully to ensure that they are not hindering further progress on access simply to preserve traditional processes. While familiar to those from the best independent schools, they may feel off-putting to their state school colleagues.

See the letter on the Times website here.