University praised over state school admissions

Figures released by the Sutton Trust show that the proportion of state school students entering Durham University has increased over the past five years.

The proportion of total entrants coming from state schools increased from 62 per cent in 1997/1998 to 68 per cent in 2002/2003.

Mr Howells said: "It is a shame that this year's benchmarks caused such a storm and took the shine off the progress being made by our leading universities.

"This Sutton Trust research shows that Durham University has successfully engaged in outreach activities and increased their proportion of state school entrants.

"This Government is dedicated to working with universities to open up access even further.

"We believe that our 2006 changes will help. The end of upfront tuition fees, bigger grants, bigger loans and the raising of the repayment threshold to £15,000 should make the funding package for students much more attractive."

The Sutton report focuses on the state school admissions of 13 universities using data supplied by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

In part of the report, Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl says: "Far from requiring the lowering of standards, it is likely that the widening of access to our leading universities has been achieved without any compromise on quality or bias against private schools."

He adds: "Ministers should not allow the controversy over the new benchmarks to undermine the success of a range of initiatives - such as summer schools, hiring outreach officers and better university-school links."

A Durham University spokesman said: "These figures from the Sutton Trust highlight the broader context for wider access than the recent snap-shot Performance Indicator figures.

"They illustrate the rising effect of Durham's aspiration-raising work in state schools over the past few years, which has significantly increased over the past three years, especially with schools in the North-East."