Toff luck chaps! State school kids do better at uni than students from private schools

State school pupils are more likely to get a better degree than their privately educated counterparts – according to a new survey. 

Government research showed that students educated in the state system were 8% more likely to get a first or 2:1 than privately educated students with the same A-level results.

The Sunday Times reports that unis will use the results to justify giving lower offers to state school applicants as their A-level results hide their true talents. The findings will fuel the debate over which form of education is better.

They might get a better degree, but have they got a variety of coloured chinos?

Sir Steve Smith, vice chancellor of Exeter, said: “Students who come in with lower offers from the bottom 40% of schools perform as well if not better at degree level than students who come in from better-performing schools with higher A-level grades.”

Exeter, along with Bristol and Leeds, openly offers lower grades to state applicants. A third of Exeter students are privately educated.

Exeter openly offers state applicants lower grades…

The research looked at 132,000 students who started in 2007/08 and how likely they were to achieve firsts or 2:1s depending on their background.

Students achieving A and A* were found to have little difference in their degree result. But those who attained BBC were up to 8% more likely to achieve a good degree than those from private.

The findings are likely to renew calls for pupils with “potential” to be given a chance to attend top unis.

Vince Cable, the business secretary, and David Willets, the higher education minister, will use the research as part of a national strategy to get more state applicants into the best universities.

In 2011/12, only 57.7% of Oxford students were state educated…

Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and St. Andrews all guarantee students with the right grade predictions an interview if they meet “contextual data” requirements. In 2011-12, only 57% of students came from state schools, compared to the national average of just over 88%.

The Office for Fair Access has warned institutions to be more “ambitious” in admitting poorer students.