Universities have to set up schools if they raise fees

UNIVERSITIES will be forced to set up new schools or take over ones which are failing to help drive up standards.

The new requirement will be imposed on any university which wants to charge annual tuition fees of £6,000 or more.

With most establishments now charging £9,000 per student, almost every university in the country will be dragged into the net. It will mean some of the world’s most successful universities being directly involved in teaching local children.

Number Ten said that ‘prior attainment’ is one of the biggest factors determining access to university. One official said: ‘Under the new arrangements, universities would be expected to use their educational expertise to do more to raise standards in schools.’ The universities would run the schools, but would not pay for their establishment or annual costs.

Universities can either open a new school or sponsor an existing one which Ofsted considers to be ‘underperforming’. The regime will be enforced via the the independent Director for Fair Access, which polices university admissions.