Schwartz consultation: ISC response

23 September 2003

The Independent Schools Council today issued the following statement responding to the consultation document published by Professor Steven Schwartz's Admissions to Higher Education Steering Group.

"ISC associations will respond in full to Professor Schwartz's stimulating report. Independent schools fully support efforts to identify talented youngsters, whatever their background or previous education. They are engaged in the same process themselves.

"They believe, however, that at the university level that objective must be achieved through more open and transparent university admissions policies, applied after students have received their A-level results, not before.

"What all good schools would dispute is the idea that a statistical formula - whether based on the social background of students or the standards achieved by their schools - will achieve a fairer distribution of university places than a full and proper consideration of individuals' achievement and potential."

A detailed blueprint for the complete overhaul of the university admissions process was issued by the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) and the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) - two of the heads' associations within the ISC - on 10 April 2003. Copies of the press release and the GSA/HMC discussion paper can be downloaded from the ISC website.