English graduates are 'driven back south by Scots racist attitudes'

GRADUATES who move from England to Scotland to study are being driven back south after completing their degrees by anti-English attitudes, a new report has warned.

The study from Edinburgh University's department of sociology said many students from south of the Border who chose Scottish universities complained of racist attitudes.

Researchers interviewed 40 graduates, half of whom had left Scotland and many cited negative experiences, including regular personal abuse because of their nationality. One had taken an employer to an industrial tribunal over perceived anti-English discrimination.

The report, published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, found Scotland described as an "unwelcoming country" where they were told to "p*** off back to England".

One graduate in the study said: "I used to live in Leith and you felt that barrier came down and it didn't matter who you were and what you did, that was it.

"They've made their minds up about you. It wasn't just not acknowledging you but being deliberately rude. Scotland didn't seem to be a place that opened its arms and said, 'we really want you to come here'."

Other interviewees told researchers they were surprised at the level of anti-Englishness, particularly during big football tournaments.

Another graduate said: "Any kind of allegiance to Scotland has been killed by the anti-English feeling of the Scots. I will cheer for the team playing Scotland but not quite as fervently as they do for the team playing England."

All the abuse suffered by those who took part in the survey was verbal. None had suffered physical violence.

Researchers Ross Bond, Katharine Charsley and Sue Grundy found that Scots graduates who moved to England did not suffer the same antagonism.

The report concluded: "The breadth and nature of our evidence highlights the potential for such experiences to affect identification with Scotland and thus weaken capacity to retain highly skilled graduates who originated from south of the Border."

Mr Bond, from Edinburgh University, said: "We found there was a general sense of underlying anti-Englishness. It seems to apply differently to different people and can be a class and regional related thing as well.

Edinburgh University has itself been previously accused of operating a "racist" admissions policy for giving preference to applicants from Scotland and the north of England on popular courses.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government, which runs the Scotland Against Racism campaign, said: "The Scottish Government does not tolerate racist behaviour of any kind. We want Scotland to be a country where all our citizens can live free from fear and discrimination."