Russell Group mania

SIR – You report (May 6) that schools are “obsessed” with sending pupils to Russell Group universities.

The reason that schools push sixth-formers to apply to this selfselected university club is that graduate employers are more than often influenced by a top-ranking university name headlining a CV. Parents and teachers are well aware of this fact, resulting in a vicious cycle that effectively relegates non-Russell Group institutions to the status of a distant second best.

Instead of complaining that schools are in some way being unfair, perhaps Professor Katie Normington of Royal Holloway should take practical steps to maintain her institution’s relevance. An obvious way to do this is to specialise in a particular area of study or offer a tailored experience that the Russell Group institutions cannot. Examples such as art colleges, drama schools, sports colleges and music conservatoires spring to mind.

Professor Normington is quoted as saying that it is ironic that schools are “not even clear what being Russell Group really is”. I would suggest that what is ironic is that Professor Normington can’t see that schools couldn’t care less what the criteria for Russell Group entry are – as long as their alumni get a stonking job at the end of their degree. Roland Johnson

Stowe, Buckinghamshire