Students to be told: 'Don't follow the herd'

17 September 2003

Independent schools are to be advised to encourage their sixth formers to look more widely for the best and most appropriate choice of university course, following a new survey of admissions patterns by the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) and the Girls' Schools Association (GSA).

Drawing on responses from 280 independent senior schools, the report (published today, 17th September) is the second survey of admissions to the UK's top universities. It found less evidence this year of the approach, apparently adopted by a small number of university departments to applicants from member schools, which gave rise to concern in the 2002 report.

But the major conclusion of this year's survey, conducted by Dr Philip Evans, Head Master of Bedford School and co-chairman of the two associations' universities sub-committee, is that the attraction of some universities for sixth formers may be exacerbating the problem, with highly-rated departments at other universities receiving fewer applications than they should.

The report says: "Student choice has a great deal to do with peer group acceptability and anecdote, though it must be conceded that many of the very popular choices do tie into more objective measures of the quality of the course at a particular university.

"Nevertheless, it is also true that highly-rated courses at some universities appear to be less popular than they deserve: the subject at a given university may have done well in a QAA audit as well as scoring highly in postgraduate research on the Research Assessment Exercise."

The report adds: "It is strongly arguable that student choice needs to be more careful, focusing on more than peer-group reputation and transient popularity. Not only will careful research optimise the chance of an offer (relative to a given candidate's ability) but it will ensure that a few apparent key players do not remain so congested with applicants that interviewing becomes impossible.

"It will also ensure that strong but less popular departments start to see the applicant numbers that, more objectively, they deserve."

The report emphasises the strongly-held view of many independent schools that universities should make more use of interviewing when selecting for oversubscribed courses. "A well-conducted interview, which develops its own dynamic after the rehearsed opening moves, just as in a game of chess, opens up the candidate to scrutiny. Offers based on a combination of the UCAS form and interview have surely been based on a weighing up of the strengths and weaknesses of individual candidates."

Dr Evans' report also concludes that the current A level grading system is "insufficiently discriminating." He says: "The situation in some subjects is such that between a quarter and a third of all candidates gain a Grade A. Within this 25-33 per cent, there will clearly be a gradient of ability in the subject; in its inability to discriminate between such candidates the A-level examination is no longer fit for purpose."

The report endorses a recalibration of A level grades on a six-point scale, together with a tightening up of exam questions to allow the most able to be challenged effectively while not losing the general accessibility of A level papers.

The report also notes the continuing serious decline in the popularity of maths and science subjects at university level and urges that the highest priority be given to reversing the decline by all key players in secondary and tertiary education.

The survey, drawing on responses from 159 HMC and 121 GSA schools, looked at admissions patterns at 30 universities, drawn entirely from the Russell Group and 94 Group of universities. Admissions patterns were studied for 13 popular subjects: biology, chemistry, computer science, economics, English, French, geography, history, law, mathematics, physics, physiotherapy and psychology.

A very wide range of different patterns emerged, but Dr Evans comments that "Type A" behaviour, in which relatively low offers are combined with high rejection rates for independent school applicants, "provide a more problematic scenario for the prospective applicant. Type A behaviour seems less obvious in this year's survey."

Copies of the survey, "Offers and Rejection Rates for a Range of Subjects at Leading Universities", are available.

The GIRLS' SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION, which represents 207 girls' senior schools, and the HEADMASTERS' AND HEADMISTRESSES' CONFERENCE, which consists of 241 boys' and co-educational senior schools, are two of the five heads' associations represented by the Independent Schools Council. Schools in the two associations educate nearly 290,000 pupils. About 28,000 leavers from GSA and HMC schools go on to higher education each year.