The higher education regulator for England has set challenging new widening access targets requiring universities to rethink how merit is judged in admissions. Universities are being encouraged to move away from the traditional meritocratic equality of opportunity model of fair access, which holds that university places should go to the most…

This paper reports on the findings of an ESRC funded project that contributes to the evidence base underpinning contextualised approaches to undergraduate admissions in England. We show that the bolder use of reduced entry requirements for disadvantaged learners is necessary if ambitious new widening access targets set by the Office for Students…

Universities are increasingly making decisions about undergraduate admissions with reference to contextual indicators to identify whether an applicant comes from a disadvantaged family, neighbourhood or school environment. However, the indicators used are often chosen because they are readily available, without consideration of the quality of…

In the UK, as elsewhere, the use of "contextual" data has been strongly advocated in order to inform undergraduate admissions decision-making. More than a third of UK universities currently take the socioeconomic or other background context of undergraduate applicants' attainment into account when deciding whom to shortlist, interview,…

This paper is based on a series of previous research studies looking at the impact and development of teachers in the UK and internationally. It suggests that there is no convincing evidence, in terms of test outcomes, that some teachers are more or less effective with equivalent pupils. This is not necessarily because teachers are not…

Examines the advantages and disadvantages of specialist schools in England. Concludes that specialist schools attain higher levels of student achievement at the cost of socioeconomic diversity, especially when these schools set their own admission criteria. Suggests ways for specialist schools to increase student diversity. (Contains 23…

This paper examines the impact of England's specialist school program on secondary school admissions, discussing the early impact of policies intended to create specialist schools on school composition. Specialist schools are given extra resources to develop best practices in one of four areas of expertise: arts, technology, sports, and language.…

This paper presents four case studies that are part of a larger study on admissions arrangements and impacts on school admissions for all local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales. It examines factors influencing the social composition of schools. A total of 23 LEAs completed interviews about their secondary school admissions…