June 4th, 2008
University Introduces Tests for all Applicants
Students applying to a leading university will have to sit an entrance exam because A-levels are too easy.
Imperial
College London will require all sixth-formers to take an aptitude test
to select the best candidates from the record number of pupils leaving
school and college with straight A’s.
Sir
Richard Sykes, the university’s rector, said year-on-year grade
inflation had “destroyed” its ability to discriminate between bright
and average applicants.
It is thought to be the first university entrance test to be introduced since
Sir Richard insisted that other universities were considering copying the move.
His comments come as thousands of sixth-formers prepare to sit A-levels this summer. Last year, more than a quarter of papers were graded A. The number of A’s has doubled since 1990.
Speaking at the Independent Schools Council annual conference in
He
said it was “frightening” that four in 10 of his students came from
private schools even though they educate just seven per cent of pupils.
“We can’t rely on A-levels any more,” he said.
“Everybody who applies has got three A’s or four A’s – they are not very useful.”
Imperial,
which specialises in engineering, medicine and natural sciences, was
fifth in the world in a recent league table behind Harvard,
Students applying for medicine will, in line with other universities, continue to take a separate entrance test.
Sir
Richard said: “We are doing this not because we don’t believe in
A-level, but we cannot use A-levels any more as a discriminatory
factor.”
He warned that bright children stood a better chance of getting into top universities if they were educated privately. He
called for the Government to fund pupils to attend fee-paying schools
because children “are not getting the education they deserve”.
In recent years,
Last night, the Government insisted that changes to the A-level from September will address concerns. Students will gain an A* grade for top marks and longer questions will make exams more taxing. A watchdog, called Ofqual, has also been created.
Lord
Adonis, the schools minister, said: “The rise in the number of pupils
achieving higher grades is due to increased success of schools and
should be celebrated.”