Are Scottish universities in danger of becoming the 'preserve of privileged elites', as exam results land?

Prestigious universities across the UK could become “the preserve of privileged elites” with students from poorer backgrounds put off higher education, an education expert has warned.

Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said more students waiting for their exam results were questioning the value of a degree following negative narratives about universities over the past year.

But Scotland’s fair access commissioner said there was “no firm evidence” to suggest students from lower-income backgrounds in Scotland were turning away from university.

The comments come as 145,000 learners across Scotland prepared to receive their exam results by post, text message and email on Tuesday morning.

Prof Major said cost-of-living concerns, the attainment gap in schools and anti-university rhetoric could see more school leavers questioning the value of a university education.

Asked if he believed this was true of Scotland as well as the rest of the UK, he said: “These are universal trends - there remains a real danger that intakes to our most prestigious, highly selective universities will remain the preserve of the privileged few, amid stark academic divides in schools in the post pandemic era and booming levels of private tutoring benefiting those from more middle-class families.

“The education race is tilted in countless ways towards the already advantaged - competition is fierce as the rewards from elite degrees are the best paid and most powerful jobs.”

Statistics relating to Scottish school leavers also recently showed that while higher education remained the most common destination for those who left school in 2022/23, the proportion fell from 37.7 per cent in 2021/22 to 37.1 per cent last year - the lowest level since 2014/15.

However, UCAS figures showed the number of Scottish school leavers applying for a place at a Scottish university this year was up 4 per cent on last year.

The proportion of applicants from Scotland’s 20 per cent most deprived communities to UK universities also continued to increase, with 17.4 per cent of applicants in the current cycle coming from those areas.

Scottish universities have a target to ensure a fifth of all entrants to higher education come from the 20 per cent most deprived communities in Scotland by 2030.

John McKendrick, a Glasgow Caledonian University professor who is Scotland's Commissioner for Fair Access, said: “Although concerns have been raised by some in Westminster over the value of a university degree, the tenor of debate in Scotland is different. 

“Scotland remains committed to promoting fair access and to ensuring that those with the desire and potential to succeed in higher education have the opportunity to do so.

“We must always be vigilant over cost-of-living issues and degree outcomes. However, as far as I am aware, there is no firm evidence to suggest that students from lower-income backgrounds in Scotland are turning away from university. 

“Indeed, pathways to higher education are being facilitated by innovative work to promote fair access.”

Edinburgh University was criticised last year after statistics showed only pupils considered who fell into a “widening access” category - such as coming from a deprived background - were accepted to nine courses in 2022, leading to claims middle-class students were being squeezed out.

The Scotsman also reported earlier this year how Sir Peter Mathieson, the principal of Edinburgh University, had privately told Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth the proportion of Scottish students at the prestigious institution could rise “higher” than the existing 30 per cent, if the Scottish Government altered its policy of “free tuition” for Scottish undergraduates, which effectively caps the number of Scots admitted.

A spokesman for the Russell Group, which includes Edinburgh and Glasgow universities, said: “Latest UCAS figures for this year do not show a significant drop in demand from disadvantaged applicants, with application rates for UK students of all backgrounds similar to last year.

“However, our universities understand that cost-of-living pressures and the loss of learning from the pandemic disproportionately impact on disadvantaged young people.

“That is why they have introduced a range of measures to support students from these backgrounds, such as accommodation and work experience bursaries and academic programmes to support the transition to university.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our resolute commitment to free tuition and our enhanced student support offering means that in Scotland access to university remains based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay, ensuring that the opportunity of a university education is available to everyone, regardless of their background.

“And the results of that approach are clear from the latest official statistics which show we have a record number of students from Scotland’s most deprived communities entering university, with Ministers determined to build on this progress.”