Admissions Omissions

In the name of social mobility, a commission chaired by Alan Milburn is to recommend that Oxford and Cambridge pay less attention to academic ability and more to social background when admitting students. This is an assault on the meritocratic principles at the heart of equality of opportunity, which is precisely what the Social Mobility Commission should be seeking to protect.

It is true that, though only 7 per cent of pupils are privately educated, more than 40 per cent of successful Oxbridge applicants are. The obligation to change this, however, falls on schools.

In the first instance, not enough state school pupils are applying: 37 per cent of applicants to Oxford last year were from private schools. The Sutton Trust has found that many teachers at state schools discourage their pupils from applying on the basis that top universities are elitist. Reports like this one do not help to dispel that myth. The millions of pounds universities spend on outreach and access, however, do.

Read the full article here. Read Sir Peter Lampl’s letter in response here. (£)