Top universities ‘must up their game’

In a new report, the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission also raises concerns that the proportion of state-educated pupils attending these institutions has dropped.

It suggests that the nation’s most academically selective universities are becoming less socially representative, and have “a long way to go” to ensure that all potential students have a chance of gaining a place.

Alan Milburn, the Government’s social mobility tsar, said that while it was clear that universities were increasingly determined to help make Britain socially mobile, it was time for leading institutions to “up their game”.

The new report reveals that there were 126 fewer students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds at Russell Group universities in 2011/12 than there were in 2002/03.

The Russell Group represents 24 of the UK’s most selective universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.

The findings, based on an analysis of official data, show that the number of state school pupils starting a degree at a Russell Group university increased by 1,464 between 2002/03 and 2011/12.

But it adds that nearly half of the new places created at Russell Group institutions in the last decade have gone to private school students, with the number of privately-educated pupils increasing by 1,426.

It means overall the proportion of young, full-time state-educated undergraduates at Russell Group universities has fallen from 75.6 per cent in 2002/03 to 74.6 per cent in 2011/12.

The proportion of state-educated young undergraduates from poorer families fell from 19.9 per cent to 19 per cent in the same period.

The report, which looks at the progress made in increasing access in the last six months, concludes that there are still around 3,700 “missing” state-educated students – those who have good enough grades to get into a Russell Group university, but do not get a place.

The Commission says it is “deeply concerned” about the lack of progress being made on ensuring pupils have a fair chance of a university place. “The most selective universities need to be doing far more to ensure that they are recruiting from the widest possible pool of talent.

“The Commission will be looking for evidence of a step change in both intention and action in the years to come.”

Mr Milburn, chair of the Commission, said: “It is clear that there is an increasing determination on the part of our universities to do their bit in creating a Britain that is more socially mobile.

“But there is a long way to go to ensure that there is fair access to our best universities. They need to up their game.”

Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, warned that the many reasons why state-educated pupils and poorer students are under-represented could 
not be solved by universities alone. “Ultimately too few students from some state schools get the right grades in the right subjects and even those who do are less likely to apply to leading universities,” she said.

“Whilst we accept the Commission’s figures for the specific dates they have chosen to highlight, it’s worth noting that there will be some fluctuation in these numbers year on year and this has an impact on the figures.

“Looking back at the period from 1997/98 to 2010/11, there was an increase in the proportion of students from state schools enrolling at Russell Group institutions from 69.5 per cent in 1997/98 to 74.7 per cent in 2010/11”.