Headteachers call for university funding boost to ease squeeze on places

HEADTEACHERS in Scotland are calling for an increase in spending on university places after a huge surge in applicants sparked concerns that tens of thousands of would-be students could be rejected.

Applications to higher education institutions have risen by 31 per cent in the past year, to 38,763, according to figures released by the university admissions service UCAS.

The surge means thousands of young Scots could miss out on a place at university this year. Heads have branded the situation "grossly unfair" and many are calling for the Scottish Government to provide additional funding for universities to cope.

Ken Cunningham, the General Secretary of School Leaders Scotland – which represents the heads of public and private secondary schools – said the situation is putting extra pressure on pupils and their teachers.

He said: "A lot of youngsters are going to be disappointed. The problem is that a lot of people are applying for places who wouldn't have considered it before. There needs to be some increase in funding to be able to allocate the number of places to young people."

This shortfall in places was having a serious knock-on effect on schools, which will have to prepare to deal with their pupils' disappointment.

Cunningham added: "It makes it very hard for schools to guide their pupils through the process.

"It will require significant careers support and advice available on the ground to support young people around the time of their Higher results."

Already, headteachers have seen the increase in applications affect their pupils, with many being rejected from courses they would have got into a few years ago.

Fresh evidence that even the brightest students are struggling to find places emerged yesterday when two out of three private schools in the UK said teenagers were finding it harder to get into university than a year ago. In some cases, pupils with straight As were being turned down.

Headteachers said the squeeze was being exacerbated by universities giving lower grade offers to bright pupils from state schools as part of the UK government's "widening participation" policy and by giving priority to overseas students.

The Scottish Government said higher education services had already received extra funds. This year, the allocation of places was at an early stage and it would continue to monitor the demand for places over the next few weeks.