university | Schools Week

UCAS chief: ‘Danger’ poor students could ‘fall behind’ in university admissions

There is a “danger” the university admission disadvantage gap could widen this year, the chief executive of UCAS has said. While there has been an increase in applications from the most disadvantaged pupils this year, Clare Marchant said there has been a larger rise in applications from the most wealthy. Speaking at a Higher Education […]

Williamson wants to rush through university admissions reform ‘without legislation’

The government wants to rush through its plans for a post-qualifications admissions (PQA) system for universities “without legislation”, the education secretary has said. Gavin Williamson told the House of Commons today that “we really want to bring PQA forward as rapidly as possible”, and said he would like to do it “without legislation and in […]

20,000 students hit as UCAS glitch rejects university offers

Tens of thousands of students faced more stress this morning as a glitch in UCAS’s system automatically rejected their university offers. Around 100,000 students have until midnight today (June 10) to make their decisions through the admissions service’s portal. But as many as one in five received emails from UCAS in the early hours of […]

Post-qualification admissions: Ofqual says university reforms risk ‘unacceptable’ results delays

Ofqual has warned exam results could be delayed and students miss out on places if the government relies on slashing marking time to deliver a radical overhaul of university admissions. The regulator said post-qualification admissions reforms would rely on results for level 3 qualifications, including AS and A Levels, being released up to three weeks […]

Coronavirus: 6 key findings from the Sutton Trust’s research on university applications

More than two in five A-level pupils believe the assessment system in place this year will adversely affect their grades, while almost half believe the Covid-19 crisis will hit their chances of getting into their first-choice university. Social mobility charity The Sutton Trust polled pupils studying for their A-levels this year, and found many were […]

Schools invited to comment on major review of university admissions

Schools are invited to have their say on how the future of university admissions should look, as the independent regulator for higher education in England launches a major review. The Office for Students has put forward three future options for reform of the system, which includes keeping it the same but with reforms such as […]

Barring pupils with fewer than three Ds ‘access to student loans’ is ‘retrograde step’

Leaked proposals that would deny student loans to pupils who achieve fewer than three Ds in their A-levels have been branded a “retrograde step” by school leaders. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the independent review of higher education, chaired by former investment banker Philip Augar, is expected to recommend proposals to shake-up the university […]

Office for Students wades into unconditional university offers storm

One of the first orders of business at the new Office for Students will be to investigate the sharp rise in unconditional university offers, and it will “take action” if these are found to adversely affect pupils. Unconditional offers – which promise university places to pupils regardless of their A-level results – allow pupils to […]

Talk to pupils about university when they’re 10, Ucas tells schools

Schools should do more to encourage pupils as young as 12 to think about their post-18 choices, the University and College Admissions Service has said, sparking a call for better careers funding. For its latest report, Through the lens of students, Ucas surveyed more than 16,000 recent university applicants about how their perceptions of higher […]