Universities admit 'soft' A-levels damage chance of top places

Students who 'avoid challenge' of traditional subjects miss out on places at Oxbridge or 'redbrick' institutions

Top universities will today issue guidance which acknowledges officially for the first time that they favour students who study traditional subjects at A-level.

The guide compiled by the Russell Group, a lobbying group for Oxford, Cambridge and 18 other leading universities, confirms rumours that have circulated for years that they favour those subjects over newer ones such as business studies or photography.

It also reveals an overwhelming preference for science and maths subjects even for seemingly unrelated degrees.

The new handbook, seen by the Guardian, is a sign that universities are having to cave in to ministers and teachers' calls for far more information on how admissions tutors decide who they award places to and why.

By not studying at least two of the following subjects maths, English, geography, history, any of the three pure sciences or a classical or modern foreign language "many degrees at competitive universities will not be open to you," the guide, produced in collaboration with the Institute of Career Guidance, states.

It asks students to question why they are not taking traditional subjects: "Are you trying to avoid a challenge?" It states that while there is no "set definition" of a "hard" or "soft" subject, so-called "hard" subjects are like the ones the top universities prefer and are more theoretical. It gives media studies, art and design, photography and business studies as examples of "soft" subjects and states that they are "vocational or have a practical bias".

"If you plan to take more than one perceived 'soft' subject, some caution may be needed," the guidebook warns.

In June, David Willetts, the universities minister, told vice-chancellors he had been "pushing for greater transparency from universities for some time". The advice teenagers received on university courses was "of absolute importance ! so that [they] don't miss out on a particular course or a place at a particular university through not receiving the right guidance at the right time," he said. Willetts said the handbook was a "welcome step towards levelling the playing field for prospective students".

Just over 7.2% of pupils in England attend private schools but make up over a quarter of the intake at the 25 most selective universities, and 46.6% at Oxford. It's thought this may in part be because state school students do not receive proper guidance about what it takes to get into an elite university when they are making their A-level choices.

Yesterday Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group admitted that choosing the right subjects at GCSE and A-level was "crucial to whether a teenager maximised or reduced their opportunities and life chances".

"It is really important that students do not disadvantage themselves by choosing a combination of subjects at A-level which will not equip them with the appropriate skills and knowledge for their university course or which may not demonstrate effectively their aptitude for a particular subject," she said.

Careers advisers said the handbook would mean clever pupils at comprehensives could no longer be in a weaker position to their peers in private schools when applying to leading universities, such as Oxbridge.

Some argue that pupils at private schools and grammars are at an advantage because they have teachers who may specialise in building relationships with top universities and decoding universities' complex admission requirements.

The majority of the 61 degree courses in the handbook state that maths and/or science A-levels would be either a requirement to win a place, or "useful".

The guide reminds students that abroad, for example in Asian countries, subjects such as maths, the native language, a science and a foreign language are compulsory up to 17. It implies that these are the students that the UK's teenagers are competing with for places! .

Critical thinking and general studies are recommended to be extra subjects, on top of three or more A-levels. Science and maths A-levels are recommended for degrees in archaeology, anthropology and geography among others, and law degrees do not require law A-level. History may be useful instead, the guidebook states. For history degrees, some universities do not require history, but believe English is useful.

Andy Gardner, a career adviser in state schools and a representative of the Institute of Career Guidance, said school students had faced a "torrent of misleading information until now".


guardian.co.uk Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds



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