EVERY year, I am delighted when my top students achieve a place at Oxford or Cambridge universities.

But what I really want is more pupils from the entire North-East to gain entry.

I admire the hard work of all the universities based in the North-East and they have exciting and relevant degree courses for many students in our region, but Oxbridge universities do offer a unique and world class experience.

They give many of their alumni a passport to a successful life and they have among the highest proportions of graduates in the country entering highly paid jobs.

These benefits should be available to a greater proportion of North-East students, and measures have been taken to ensure they are.

The sad fact is that just one out of 100 pupils who qualifies for free school meals makes it to the top two universities, compared with six per cent of pupils generally. Out of 152 councils across the country, only 26 had a free school meal pupil successfully apply.

Oxbridge universities often suffer from a reverse snobbery among people in the North of England, as they are seen as elitist institutions that educate the governing classes.

It is true that most of our prime ministers have been to either one of the universities; in fact both David Cameron and Ed Miliband were educated at Oxford, reading Politics Philosophy and Economics.

But my view is that what’s good for our leaders is right for our children too.

That image can be unfair, given that so few students from the North-East apply in the first place. Some might be put off by a perception of institutional bias against northern applicants; others might simply lack the confidence to put their hat in the ring.

These feelings are understandable. But they are increasingly wrong. The evidence is that both Oxford and Cambridge are committed to outreach and the students who successfully apply from our area often do well.

Before 2011, the North-East made up only 1.5 per cent of applications to Oxford University – but with lower financial burdens, fair access policies and a genuinely welcoming environment, things are starting to change.

Oxford and Cambridge both understand the need to generate more applications from our part of the world. They have been encouraged by OFFA, the Office For Fair Access, to reach out to the North-East as part of the deal struck between the Government and top universities that allowed an increase in tuition fees in exchange for “access agreements”.

In the next financial year, Oxford will spend £5.2 million on access and outreach work, aimed at attracting applicants from under-represented backgrounds, and equipping them to make competitive applications.

The university also recognises that fear of the cost could deter applications and so it is devoting substantial resources to a range of tuition charge waivers for students from lowerincome households, on top of a package of generous maintenance bursaries costing up to an estimated £7.3m in 2014-15.

Similar initiatives are offered by Cambridge.

Both universities want to attract the brightest and the best applicants, from whatever their background and it is worth noting that special provision to encourage and support applications from students in the North-East does not, and in my view should not, include lowering the entry requirements in terms of Alevel results and proven dedication to learning.

Our students must work just as hard as everybody else on their studies.

Oxford University runs the UNIQ summer school, which offers young people a free taster of what the academic experience will be like.

For one week at various times throughout the summer, participants can attend lectures in their chosen subject, workshops about applying to Oxford and they can also take part in a variety of social activities. There are around 1,000 places available on this scheme in 2014.

In addition, the university’s Year 10 Taster Days run from February to May and give academically able year ten students a chance to visit Oxford for a taste of what it would be like to study there.

The programme includes an introduction to higher education and student finance, interactive sessions with current students, lunch served in the college dining hall, and participation in an academic activity. Other opportunities, such as the Year 11 Investigating Options and the Year 13 Application Information days, are also available.

AT Cambridge, the university works with the highly regarded Sutton Trust to encourage participation from students in the North-East. The Sutton Trust is dedicated to improving social mobility through access to education. Applications for the 2014 Year 12 Sutton Trust Summer Schools are now open and close on March 10 – in just a few weeks.

The Sutton Trust Summer Schools are free subject-specific residential courses for Year 12 (or equivalent) students studying at statemaintained schools in the UK. The five-day summer schools in July and August allow students to explore their interest in one of 26 subject courses and to gain an insight into what it is like to live and study as a first-year undergraduate student at Cambridge.

The programme includes lectures, seminars, discussion groups, practical work and social activities, as well as the opportunity to meet current staff and students and to live in a Cambridge college.

To apply for an Oxford taster experience with the UNIQ summer school, or if you just want more information, visit ox.ac.uk/uniq. If you have any questions, email uniq@admin.ox.ac.uk, or call 01865-280126.

For Cambridge, get in touch with the Sutton Trust Widening Participation Team on 01223 768 676 or email: suttontrust@cao.cam.ac.uk.