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Oxbridge unlikely to meet access targets until 2016

15 October 2007

Oxford and Cambridge universities must stop blaming a lack of applications for their failure to recruit students from non-traditional backgrounds, according to new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) to be published next year.

Today (Mon) is the deadline for applications to Oxford and Cambridge. Last year the two universities signed agreements with the new Office for Fair Access (OFFA) pledging to increase the proportion of students they take from state schools by 2011. But new ippr analysis shows that:

• On current progress, Oxford will not meet their benchmark until 2016.
• On current progress, Cambridge will not meet their benchmark until 2012.  

Last week, Universities Secretary John Denham said he wanted the question of bias against pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds "settled" before a review in 2009 of tuition fees. "This is about talent spotting, not social engineering,” he said. "I don't want to go into the fees review without settling this debate."

The access agreements that Oxford and Cambridge have agreed with OFFA do not guarantee any progress before the 2009 tuition fee review. The deadline for all universities to submit their monitoring data to OFFA was in July but that data has not yet been made public.

Oxford and Cambridge have argued that their hands are tied because not enough high calibre students apply. But ippr analysis of official figures show that, while 9,800 students from independent schools achieved at least three A grades at A-level last year, another 12,500 students from state schools and another 5,200 students from FE colleges also achieved at least three A grades at A-level. Of students who got three A grades at A level, 36 per cent went to independent schools but the independent sector takes up 46 per cent of Oxford places and 43 per cent of Cambridge places.

Overall:

• Oxford University takes 54 per cent of students from state schools (its target is to reach 62 per cent in five years)
• Cambridge University takes 57 per cent of students from state schools (its target is to reach between 60 and 63 per cent in five years)  

Lisa Harker, ippr Co-Director, said:

“Oxford and Cambridge need to be more proactive. Students getting three A grade A-levels at state schools are significantly under represented at both universities. Oxford and Cambridge must stop blaming a lack of applications for their failure to make progress. It does not matter how many bursaries they offer or how many students visit their campuses if students from non-traditional backgrounds are not applying. If John Denham is serious about winning the access argument before the tuition fees debate returns, he needs to convince universities that, when it comes to access, they will be judged on their attainment and not their effort.”

Research published by the Sutton Trust last month found a third of Oxbridge admissions during the last five years have come from just 100 schools, most of which are both selective and fee-paying. Privately educated students still make up well over a third of all students at Oxford and Cambridge.

In 2000, Gordon Brown personally highlighted the rejection of North Tyneside state schoolgirl, Laura Spence by Oxford University, despite the fact she was predicted to get five A grades at A-level. Spence eventually went to Harvard University.

Notes to editors

Universities Challenged, by Sophie Moullin will be published by ippr next year.

Lisa Harker will be available for interview from BBC Oxford studios on Monday morning.

The number of people applying to full-time undergraduate courses in England for 2007 increased by 6 per cent.

The Office for Fair Access has agreed access agreements with all universities but has yet to publish monitoring data on their progress.

Oxford’s agreement is available at:

http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/news/2004-05/mar/accessagreement.pdf

Cambridge’s agreement is available at: http://www.offa.org.uk/agreements/H-0114%20University%20of%20Cambridge%20Agreement%20revised%20Sep%2005.pdf

• Oxford’s access agreement with the Office for Fair Access commits the university to “Develop a benchmark for state school applications, and aim to meet that benchmark within five years (based on A-level achievement in different sectors, it is expected that this benchmark will be in the region of 62 per cent).”
• Cambridge’s access agreement commits its to “increase the proportion of suitably qualified UK national students from the state sector admitted over the 5-year period to a figure somewhere in the range between 60 and 63 percent.”
   

Research published by the Sutton Trust last month shows that:

• 100 elite schools – making up under 3 per cent of 3,700 schools with sixth forms and sixth form colleges in the UK – accounted for a third of admissions to Oxbridge during the last five years.
• At the 30 schools with the highest admissions rates to Oxbridge, one quarter of university entrants from the schools went to Cambridge and Oxford universities during the five years.
• The schools with the highest admissions rates are highly socially selective. The 30 schools are composed of 28 independent schools, one grammar, and one comprehensive. The 100 schools with the highest admissions rates to Oxbridge are composed of 80 independent schools, 18 grammar schools, and two comprehensives.
• Overall, the top 200 schools and colleges made up 48 per cent of admissions to Oxbridge during the five years, with 10 per cent of their university entrants going to the two universities. The other 3,500 schools and colleges accounted for the remaining 52 per cent of admissions, with one per cent of their university entrants going to Oxbridge during the period.

ippr’s team of analysts used data on admissions from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) over the last four years to calculate a geometric average and track projected progress based on previous progress. All information refers to full-time young first-degree entry, from the academic year 2005/6 for Oxford and 2004/5 for Cambridge, which has yet to publish its latest figures.

Contacts

Richard Darlington, ippr media manager, 020 7470 6177 / 07738 320 645 / r.darlington@ippr.org

Matt Jackson, ippr senior media officer, 020 7339 0007 / 07753 719 289 / m.jackson@ippr.org