University denies home students are ‘losing out’

Scotland’s oldest university has hit back at suggestions that the higher education sector “prefers” fee-paying students from England over those from Scotland, writes Andrew Denholm for Herald Scotland.

The University of St Andrews said the claim was "incorrect" after the Scottish Conservative Party said universities were being forced into "tough choices” and that home students were "losing out".

Liz Smith, the party's education spokesperson, said: "We have known for some time, from what we have been told by parents and schools, that some of the brightest pupils in Scotland are finding it very much tougher to get in to top universities… The root cause is the SNP’s [Scottish National Party’s] very divisive and discriminatory higher education funding policy which, together with the mandatory capping system, is forcing universities into very tough choices. Not surprisingly, there is a growing preference for students who will pay fees."
Full report on the Herald Scotland site