St Andrews one of worst universities for inclusion

Cambridge, Oxford and St Andrews are the worst universities for social diversity, despite being the academic top three in Britain, data shows.

However, the university second last in the academic r a n k i n g – L o n d o n Metropolitan – is second highest for social inclusion, with Glyndwr topping that list.

The data comes as The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide includes a table of social diversity for the first time.

The majority of Russell Group institutions are among the least socially inclusive universities in Britain, taking 16 of the bottom 20 places in the new ranking, the list reveals.

The guide’s editor Alastair McCall said: “For all their policies that exist in each and every one of them to boost admissions from disadvantaged groups, the evidence of our new table at the very least is that the majority of Russell Group institutions are a long way off achieving true diversity in their student intake.”

But he added that questions remain for those at the top of the social inclusion rankings.

“Admitting a diverse range of students should not be a licence to fail in other areas, but too many of the institutions at the top of this ranking have the worst dropout rates and the lowest levels of graduate employment,” he said.

London Metropolitan and Glyndwr both admit more than 96% of their students from nongrammar state schools but they both also have high dropout rates and poor graduate employment levels, the Times said.

De Montfort University has been named the first ever university of the year for social inclusion.

The full guide is published in The Sunday Times and at thesundaytimes.co.uk/ gooduniversityguide.

“A long way off achieving true diversity in their student intake”