State schools and prestigious universities

This Sutton Trust report examines the reasons behind why relatively few state schools who send a high proportion of their students to prestigious UK universities (defined using their "Sutton 13" list and the Russell Group list).

Key findings:
- Within the state-maintained sector, there are relatively few comprehensive schools which appear to send significant numbers of students to the most prestigious universities, and those which do so tend to have relatively advantaged students.
- The overall profile of students entering the case study sixth-forms is more advantaged than that of Year 7 to 11 students.
- All of the schools expressed a strong commitment to encouraging their students to progress on to university.
- Schools showed varying levels of outreach activities, often through Aimhigher and the National Academy for Gifted and Talent Youth (NAGTY).
- Having disproportionately large sixth-forms may benefit the performance of students in these particular schools.
- Links with universities were often based on personal contacts rather than a more strategic approach.
- All the schools explicitly encourage students to progress to higher education, and also emphasise the importance of sixth-form students as role models for younger students.
- The earliest that most of the schools begin to systematically address the route to university is in Year 9, around the time of deciding GCSE options.
- On entry to the sixth-form, potential Oxbridge applicants are identified, and all the schools take advantage of outreach activities from Oxford and Cambridge.
- Oxbridge applicants are given extra assistance with their application and preparation for their interview.
- Within all the schools, students receive strong direction and help with the UCAS process.
- In briefings on higher education, teachers are generally reluctant to draw attention to status differences between universities, and many students appear to have only a vague notion of status. Proximity of the university appeared to be one of the most important factors affecting a student’s decision.
- The predicted grades of ‘first generation’ HE aspirants were generally lower than those of their fellow students. Students whose parents had attended university were more likely to apply
with lower predicted grades to prestigious universities.
- A number of teachers felt that the main issue with regard to guiding student choice was students' over-aspiration.