University teaching hospitals urged to target students with lower A-levels

[30.05.2012]

Alan Milburn has proposed that university teaching hospitals positively discriminate by deliberately selecting students with poorer A-level grades.

The government's independent reviewer of social mobility's recommendations have been made with a view to levelling the playing field, giving students from poor educational backgrounds the same opportunities as those from better performing state and private schools.

Speaking to the Guardian, former Labour MP Mr Milburn said: "In a perfect world where all schools are equal you would simply select on the basis of academic attainment.

"We won't get a more mobile society unless we create more of a level playing field of opportunity - but the playing field isn't level."

Taking this approach has been shown to be effective in the past, with a report in the British Medical Journal highlighting the success of an extended medical degree programme at King's College London.

Although the project required extra commitment from academic staff, the outcomes demonstrated that students with lower grades could be just as successful as medical practitioners.

Posted by Jennifer Wright