Universities must help schools and cannot shirk responsibility for poor children not having the grades to start degrees, a leading figure at the student watchdog will suggest today.
John Blake, director of fair access at the Office for Students, will ratchet up pressure on vice-chancellors to raise standards in their local areas.
As well as not discriminating against teenagers from deprived or challenging backgrounds, universities will have to actively help them before they get to sixth-form age. This will include setting up specialist schools, such as in maths or performing arts, or running projects to improve children’s reading age.
Blake will say in a speech today at the Social Mobility Foundation in central London that university partnerships with schools, charities and employers are essential.
