University tells students: only straight As will guarantee place

It is feared the increase could damage the opportunities of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Scottish universities are facing increased applications because of a drop in school-leaver jobs in the economic downturn, leading to a backlog of people demanding a place.

Over-subscription last year has forced some universities to cut places to avoid fines, meaning there are increasing numbers fighting for ever fewer places.

Now Glasgow University has been slammed for raising its entry requirements to four A grades at Higher in one sitting.

Brian Cooklin, a former president of School Leaders Scotland, warned the move could disadvantage students from poorer backgrounds.

The headteacher of Stonelaw High in Rutherglen said he and a number of fellow secondary headteachers were "extremely angry" that the goalposts were being moved.

Mr Cooklin, who is also a member of university admissions body, UCAS's standing group in Scotland, said: "Glasgow has issued its statement that it will require four A passes in one sitting for most subjects at the beginning of the (application] cycle.

"That is going to exclude a large number of children from being considered by Glasgow."

In the wake of increased demand, a cut in places and expected budget cuts, Glasgow University said the move was necessary.

To get a guaranteed place in the arts and social science faculties, four As at Higher in one sitting are now required by Glasgow.

For science, the requirement has risen to three As and a B. The entry grades for science degrees are slightly lower because fewer Higher candidates achieve all the necessary As in chemistry, biology, physics and maths than in arts subjects.

However, the university was keen to stress those with fewer A grades could be offered a place - it just would not guarantee entry.

Minimum requirements for medicine and law - which cannot guarantee places - are AAAAB but most applicants tend to be higher, because of the greater demand and competition. Because of that high demand and extra requirements, such as voluntary work, there is in fact no guaranteed entry.

However, headteachers fear that youngsters from a more deprived background - who traditional get lower results than children in richer areas and at high-fee paying independent schools - will lose out.

Many campaigners, including the National Union of Students in Scotland, warn increased demand could lead to degrees being the preserve of the rich.

But Frank Coton, Glasgow University's vice-principal for learning and teaching, said he had received positive feedback from headteachers.

He said: "We typically have about 3,500 undergraduate places each year, but as things stand, we have 30,000 applicants for these places at present. What we are doing is setting out to provide a fair and transparent system for potential applications. We have instituted a system where we are guaranteed entry to people who reach certain standards. That does not mean people who fall below that standard will not be admitted, but we are flagging up at an early stage an entrance level that will guarantee entry."

It is understood the university is keen to be honest with applicants and give them a clear indication of whether they stand a chance of a place.

No other university in Scotland is understood to have raised entry qualifications across the board in this way. However, Aberdeen has raised requirements for its BSc and MA degrees for A-level students from three Cs to three Bs. Entry for Higher candidates for 2011 remains the same at four Bs.

A University of Aberdeen spokeswoman said: "This was always intended as part of the university's wider curriculum reform agenda, where the decision was taken to increase the academic quality of candidates as well as ensure parity between A-level and Highers applicants."

A spokesman for Edinburgh University, which has also experienced soaring demand and been forced to cut places, said: "We have not increased our entry requirements in any subject area at undergraduate level this year."

St Andrews University said it was seeing soaring demand, with dozens of applicants chasing places; however, its entry requirements had not changed.

A spokesman said: "Demand for places on courses at St Andrews means we have to keep asking rates for individual subjects under ongoing review. For almost a decade we have been receiving on average 11 applications for every available place. In some subjects there are as many as 20 applications per place."

A University of Glasgow spokesman said: "As part of our on-going review of admissions, the university has increased some entry requirements but this was before the applications process began and all schools were informed of that change.

"The increase was due to rising numbers of applications - on average about ten for each place - over the past number of years. The university is one of the leading in the UK in terms of attracting students from backgrounds where participation in higher education has been traditionally low. We do this by working closely with target schools on a number of schemes aimed at providing every opportunity for their pupils to attend one of the best universities in the UK."

Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said: "Grades and predicted grades are hugely important but universities also take students' other achievements into account."

Glasgow & its famous alumni

Founded in 1451, Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world.

It is today ranked amongst the top British universities and is a member of the elite Russell Group.

Since 1870, the main University campus has been located on Gilmorehill in the West End of the city.

Over the past five centuries the institution has produced six Nobel laureates, one Prime Minister and Scotland's inaugural First Minister.

Scotland's first female graduates completed their degrees at Glasgow in 1894 and the world's first ultrasound images of a foetus were published by Glasgow Professor Ian Donald in 1958.

In 1840 the institution became the first university in the UK to appoint a Professor of Engineering, and in 1957, the first in Scotland to have an electronic computer.

Famous graduates and alumni, honorary and otherwise, include Defence Secretary Liam Fox, Hollywood actor Gerard Butler and novelist Iain Banks, plus others, right.