‘Immoral’: Cambridge college urged to drop private school recruitment drive | University of Cambridge
Trinity Hall alumni and leading social mobility charities have called on the University of Cambridge college to scrap its controversial efforts to actively recruit students from elite private schools, describing the new policy as damaging, offensive and a “step backwards” for equality.
After the Guardian revealed that Trinity Hall would target a small group of wealthy private schools to avoid “ignoring or marginalizing” privately educated students, according to an internal briefing, those promoting students from state schools said they were shocked and disappointed by the reasons.
Alastair Campbell, former Downing Street communications director under Tony Blair, told the Guardian: “For the university to talk about students at top private schools being ‘ignored and marginalised’ is a complete break from reality, which does not bode well for an elite academic institution.
“Being four or more times better represented at elite institutions like the University of Cambridge means nothing more than marginalization. This shows that the university wants to reverse painful advances in social mobility. And my concern is that they are doing this so that others can follow. So there is a need to speak out against this now.”
supporter of Campbell 93% ClubA network representing state educated students in the United Kingdom. The club’s chief executive, Sophie Pender, said Trinity Hall members would “withdraw alumni fund donations until the policy is reversed” and told the university its decision was “immoral and dangerous”.
Pender added: “Your state-educated graduates are watching right now; please do not set this precedent. It is not too late to get back on track and we will respect you more for it.”
Under the policy, adopted at the end of last year, Trinity Hall will approach independent schools to encourage applications in subjects such as languages, music, art history, classics and theology, in a bid to improve the “quality” of recruits. Most schools are located in the south of England and charge more than £25,000 a year.
The Sutton Trust, a charity that aims to increase social mobility through education in the UK, called for the policy to be reversed and said it was “engaged” with the University of Cambridge on the issue.
Nick Harrison, chief executive of the trust, said: “State-educated students should never be overlooked when recruiting onto any university course. We have previously found that those from private schools are already over-represented across a wide range of courses, despite representing only 7% of the population. This is already limiting the opportunities of those with similar abilities from state schools.”
“Getting a degree remains one of the surest routes to social mobility, but students who qualify for free school meals are only half as likely to go to university as their better-off peers. And persistent access gaps remain at the most selective institutions.”
Trinity Hall alumni contacted the Guardian and expressed their dismay at the policy on social media. Many said they had contacted the university to register objections and, in some cases, would reject fundraising objections as long as the policy remained in effect.
One said: “This is clearly an attempt to recruit wealthier students to strengthen Trinity Hall’s large alumni base. I am deeply disappointed that my former university implemented such a rude policy.”
Mary Hockaday, director of Trinity Hall, responded to graduates Thursday evening, telling the media reports were “very misleading.”
Hockaday said in an email: “To be clear, there have been no changes to our admissions policy or our commitment to widening participation and we continue to work very hard to support and attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“To ensure we receive applications from talented students from all backgrounds, we are offering to add some schools to our existing recruitment email list. This event does not affect our general admissions policy.”
But co-founder Jess Staufenberg Special Education Policy ForumThe think tank, which examines independent schools, said there was no evidence that private schools needed any incentive to apply to Cambridge.
“These are some of the most expensive and socially exclusive schools in the world. We know that many of these schools have entire teams of staff dedicated to ensuring successful admissions to Oxbridge,” Staufenberg said.
“Trinity Hall should present its evidence as to why these private schools need a dedicated recruitment policy that encourages their students to apply, rather than, for example, public schools in the forgotten parts of the northeast.
“Trinity Hall also needs to answer why it is not using significant endowment funds to track down and find talented, bright students hiding in the nation’s poorest communities.”
Francis Green, professor at University College London Studied private schools and inequality in the UKHe said: “If a university perceives that it is receiving too few qualified applicants in certain subjects, it may be better to publicize this across the school spectrum or even adjust study offers rather than backing away from this, which is one of the few positive developments in widening participation in recent years.”
