How to raise the bar for our ‘barely literate’ university students

What is going on in our universities? According to the just released Times Higher Education Teaching Survey, entry requirements are now so low that almost half of academics “do not feel that students are well prepared for university study by their schooling”. One complained that a high number of students turn up “almost illiterate”. That betrays the purpose of higher education.

How to improve social mobility in education has long been a hotly debated topic. But lower entry requirements are not the solution. Every student, irrespective of background, must be empowered with the academic and personal skills – knowledge, resilience, self-motivation, presentation, research, teamwork and aspiration – to ensure they are prepared for university life and study, to thrive once there, and to embark on a successful career on graduation. That is the holy grail of social mobility, not a watered-down process that is scant preparation for the real world.

So how do we reach this point and make sure students fulfil their potential at school, rather than treat universities as remedial class? Villiers Park Educational Trust, where I work, has extensive experience of this problem, and has teamed up with a number of universities to encourage the applications of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Here are some key recommendations for students and schools:

1. Run residential courses: An unrivalled way of building key skills such as questioning, writing, organisation, team work, independent research, presentation, confidence, resilience and creativity.

2. Be ambitious: Introduce students to undergraduate material in given subjects, to foster a passion for the subject and a desire to study it beyond the narrow examination specification.

3. Launch mentoring programmes: Face-to-face mentoring which results in a personal plan to improve specific academic skills is highly effective, as is e-mentoring from undergraduates already at university.

4. Encourage student-led extracurricular activities: Clubs, societies and peer support enable students to spur each other on, as well as to develop leadership, project management and employability skills.

All of this requires resources and collaboration. But the key message is that schools, charities, businesses and government must work together to raise students up, rather than bring entrance requirements to university down. Students and their families must make the biggest commitment to that. But institutions need to respond to that commitment, where it is shown, with a comprehensive, ongoing programme of activities. Achievement and aspiration, not meaningless “access”, must be the bedrocks of our education system. Julia Shervington is an executive at Villiers Park Educational Trust