18/10/2012

Reports Call On Unis To Offer 'Poor Pupils Automatic Interview'

A new report on social mobility has said that England's universities should give pupils from poor backgrounds guaranteed interviews and lower offers.

Author o the report Alan Milburn is calling for universities to "redouble their efforts" to give places to all those with talent and potential.

He says universities spend too much on bursaries and tuition fee waivers, arguing that money should be targeted at schools instead, Milburn, a former Labour MP, was asked by the government to review policies around social mobility.

His report acknowledges recent progress on getting more pupils from non-traditional backgrounds into university, but also warns: "Universities will need a new level of dogged determination if progress is to be made."

The report is likely to fuel the debate surrounding "social engineering" in university admissions and lead to fresh fears privately educated children will face discrimination.

Mr Milburn claims poor GCSE and A-level results remain the biggest barrier to higher education and says universities' efforts should be channelled towards intervention at a much earlier age.

Some of the money they currently spend on fee waivers and bursaries would be better targeted at getting 16-year-olds to stay on in education, achieve good A-levels and get into higher education.

(H)


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