Press Story

Rick Muir, IPPR Associate Director, said:

"Alan Milburn is absolutely right to call for radical change to improve access to university for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The report is right to argue that too much money is being spent on fee waivers with little evidence that they encourage more applications from young people from poorer families. Far better to spend this money on school and college outreach and support poorer teenagers who have lost their EMA to help more young people to take A-levels.

"We should encourage more universities to introduce contextual admissions processes that assess young people's potential to succeed rather than just their actual grades.

"The Milburn report is right to argue that we should look at applying the lessons of the pupil premium in schools to the university sector with more funding being provided to institutions if they recruit students from disadvantaged backgrounds."

Notes to Editors

Alan Milburn's new report is available at: http://www.wonkhe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Higher-Education-Final-accessible.pdf

Contact:

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org