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UCL to introduce entrance exam

Posted on 8th June 2009

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Private school pupils hoping to attend University College London (UCL) may soon find they have to sit an entrance exam, after the institution declared it has lost faith in the ability of A-levels to discriminate between students of average and good intelligence.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, UCL rector Sir Roy Anderson explained he felt the current system was flawed and presented universities with problems when assessing new applicants.

He suggested the A-level papers of today are "somewhat easier" than those of one or two decades ago.

"How can it be that the quality of teaching has improved so dramatically and we have such an extraordinary change in the intellectual ability of our population?" Sir Roy asked.

At the moment, students taking medicine-related courses are required to sit an aptitude test at UCL.

However, the establishment is set to introduce entrance exams across the board to assist it in its selection process.

The rector also told the newspaper that UCL is likely to extend its interview times to better assess applicants.

Meanwhile, teachers are set to be given an extra £10,000 over three years for working at the country's most challenging schools. ADNFCR-921-ID-19208620-ADNFCR