University places
Virtually all the extra places created at 13 leading universities since Labour came to power in 1997 have gone to state school pupils, a new report has shown.
The 13, including Oxford and Cambridge, now admit 33,575 students a year - 5,975 more than they did in 1997, according to the report by the Sutton Trust.
Over the same period, the number of state school pupils that they admitted rose by 5,888 - so only 87 places, or 1.4 per cent, went to independent school pupils.
Government Response: Department for Education and Skills
Kim Howells, higher education minister, said: "It is a shame that this year's benchmarks caused such a storm. The fact is our universities are getting better at opening up their doors to a wider group of students and this Sutton Trust report is the proof.
"I am looking at the benchmarks to see if there if there is any way they can be improved and better understood by all people concerned."
Stakeholder Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers
ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: "Despite the figures from the Sutton Trust showing an increase in the number of state school students entering the top universities, we call on the government to tackle the deep-rooted inequalities that come out of the reliance on student loans rather than grants.
"Students who are debt-averse are still being deterred from entering higher education.
"What we want to see is the creation of bursaries to encourage students to become teachers of shortage subjects such as modern foreign languages and science."
Stakeholder Response: Institute of Education
Dr Penny Jane Burke, lecturer in higher education at the
"However, the relationship between increasing numbers of state school students and the overall 'success' of current widening participation initiatives is being stated too strongly, and there are a number of other factors to consider.
"Statistics continue to show that most young people participating in higher education are from higher socio-economic groups and those from lower-income groups persistently do not choose to participate in higher education.
"The report, as well as much of widening participation policy, is heavily focused on schools, but there other important issues that also need to be addressed.
"We need to recognise the importance of widening access to mature students from non-traditional backgrounds and the significant potential of access to higher education courses to this end.
"We also need to consider the opportunities available for part-time study in relation to widening access and participation, particularly for those in work and/or with caring responsibilities.
"It is also important not to simply look at entry to higher education but to pay attention to other interconnecting issues including curriculum, progression, retention, pedagogy and assessment."
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