This article announces the implementation of a new admissions policy in 1999 to ‘accept less-privileged students’ and encourage ‘promising students from state schools to apply’.
The new scheme meant that departments could start reviewing potential students from disadvantaged state schools who may have had vocational qualifications rather than ‘excellent A-level predictions’. This followed a similar policy that the Law Department had implemented in 1993 that ensured less- privileged students had lower offers.
The second half of the article is dedicated to the opposition the policy received from private schools. The Independent Schools Council responded that ‘the potential for injustice is considerable’, while Vivian Anthony of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference was ‘horrified’ at the news and expected legal action to be taken against the university - ‘there must be a serious possibility of a parent, whose child has higher grades than others being admitted, testing whether the university was breaking the law.’
The Pro-Vice Chancellor at the time, Professor David Evans, commented ‘we felt we should broaden our base because we were missing out on talent.’ He dismissed criticism from representatives of independent schools, stating ‘it is not a matter of state versus independent... we are simple developing better methods of assessing potential for successful completion of a course at Bristol.’
Matt Springett, then Union President, praised the scheme arguing ‘this is not dumbing down, if anything it is dumbing up.’
The article shares the front page with a piece about the rumour that Prince William was considering attending Bristol to study History of Art from the year 2000, with an article later in the issue discussing the pros and cons of the future king attending. The article continues to state that Wills Hall was the accommodation the Prince was considering and features a quote from the warden of the time who adds he would not be keen on the publicity and security issues that would arise if the Prince stayed there. However, the Press Office denied the rumours, saying it was ‘pure speculation’ and that the Prince had not yet submitted an application via UCAS.
First published in Epigram (8th October 1999)
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