Oxford and Imperial universities reject ´state school measure´ for disadvantage

The University of Oxford and Imperial College London do not believe that state school education is a suitable indicator for disadvantage on its own.

Many leading institutions have already committed to increasing their intake of state school students, in line with Business Secretary Vince Cable's demand to improve access to poorer members of society.

However, others are rejecting this approach, claiming it is tantamount to social engineering and unfair on high achievers from private school backgrounds.

In its Access Agreement submitted to the Office of Fair Access (Offa), the University of Oxford states: "We are not convinced that using school type is the best means to that end.

"We believe the targets we have identified will be more useful in tackling the challenges of access from under-represented groups."

Any university charging over £6,000 in fees for courses must submit an access agreement which has been signed off by Offa, committing them to improving representation of disadvantaged groups across their intake.

Posted by Tony Thomas