Time to leave the cocoon

serving isolation.

Let us not forget that, despite appearances and its undoubted wealth, it does receive considerable state funding. So why not open a campus in Levenmouth and Cowdenbeath which would address their dreadful record in engaging students from deprived backgrounds?

Why not encourage teaching and research modules which focus on the whole of Fife and improve knowledge and understanding?

These measures would help root and enrich the university and spread its benefit beyond its small and affluent cocoon. James Robertson. Casan,

Leven.

Sir, – A recent letter challenging any claim St Andrews University has to pursuing equality also hints at its failure to serve all of Fife.

With the third highest population in Scotland, Fife needs the support and economic boost a serious higher education establishment can offer.

In addition to offering progression to local students and research into the local context, universities can be a real engine of growth and aspiration. Places with considerably smaller populations than Fife, such as Dundee and Aberdeen, both have more than one university. Yet St Andrews continues to shrink from its regional responsibilities and turn its back on the rest of Fife.

Its off-centre location doesn’t help but its exclusive culture and positioning in terms of an international market encourage this selfserving isolation.