The UK’s most elite universities have launched a website to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds choose A-levels that will help improve their chances of being admitted to study their preferred subject.
The Russell Group, representing the top 24 research universities, has unveiled Informed Choices, an interactive website designed to help pupils better understand which subjects are most suitable for different degree courses.
The action comes as universities including Oxford and Cambridge unveil plans to boost efforts to improve social mobility at a time of stagnation in admissions for students from less advantaged backgrounds into top institutions.
It follows research conducted by the Russell Group that suggested students in state schools, and particularly those with a high proportion of free school meals, erroneously believed the choice of A-level subjects was less important in gaining university admission than strong grades, making a strong application through a personal statement or performing well in a performance or interview.
A significantly lower proportion of teachers in these schools also rated subject choice as “very important” compared with those teaching in private schools, pupils from which are far more heavily represented in Russell Group universities.
“There is evidence that young people from less privileged backgrounds have less access to clear information,” said Sarah Stevens, the Russell Group’s director of policy. “Informed Choices can help level the playing field.”
A detailed academic study last year by Catherine Dilnot at Oxford Brookes University showed that students studying “facilitating” subjects at A-level — those considered essential for top universities’ courses — had higher successful admissions rates.
Separate research conducted in 2015 by the Sutton Trust, a charity, showed that nearly twice as many advantaged as disadvantaged bright students take one or more of the A-level subjects seen as providing access to good universities.
Ms Stevens said the Russell Group was in discussions with UCAS, the higher education clearing system, to explore in more detail the trends in A-level subject choices, degree applications and offers by socio-economic class.
Ms Stevens stressed that Russell Group universities had not changed their emphasis on facilitating subjects, but was seeking to provide more suitable, personalised advice to prospective students, some of whom were choosing A-levels that were not necessary or suitable for their preferred degree courses.
She said some courses at leading universities, such as anthropology and politics, did not have preferred A-level subject choices, and in other cases facilitating subjects could be mixed with a wider range of subjects.
Clare Marchant, chief executive of UCAS, said: “Being able to easily access relevant and personalised information at the right time is central to students making the right decisions about their future. Collaboration between universities and organisations like UCAS is key.”
UCAS is also preparing a new website designed to improve information to help students make better informed choices on subjects.
