Universities urged to fix quota for disadvantaged students

Universities should be given a fixed quota for disadvantaged teenagers to make admissions fairer, a leading private school headteacher has said, writes Louisa Clarence-Smith for The Telegraph.

Richard Cairns, head of Brighton College, said the government should set a quota for disadvantaged students that could be “25% or 20%” for universities across the country.

The government should also devise a clear definition of “disadvantaged” based on eligibility for free school meals to stop universities from comparing candidates from private schools with those from state schools, he added. Cairns told The Telegraph: “It shouldn’t be left to any university to decide whether an applicant is disadvantaged.
Full report on The Telegraph site