A-levels boost for pupils

A shake-up of A-levels to tilt the playing field in favour of state school students was announced by the Government today.

He also announced a programme to change the school year so candidates can apply to universities with their actual, not predicted, A-level grades.

As revealed by the Evening Standard earlier this month, the Government's Admissions To Higher Education Review told universities that state school candidates should be admitted with lower A-level grades than their privately educated rivals, as statistics showed they went on to get better degrees.

The review said universities should be given three years to show they were implementing its recommendations.

Mr Clarke agreed that a follow-up inquiry in 2007 - a year after ?3,000 tuition fees are introduced - was "sensible".

The final report of the review led by Professor Steven Schwartz, vice-chancellor of Brunel University, said "the most rigorous analysis" showed a state school candidate with a C at A-level in their degree subject did better than someone educated in the private sector with an A. "Providers of higher education, when reviewing their admissions policies, will wish to bear this research in mind."

Professor Schwartz said it was legitimate for universities to choose between candidates who were equal in all other ways to increase their cultural, social and racial "diversity".

"If you have two students, both of whom have similar marks, it's okay for universities to choose in order to become a more diverse place and that has educational benefits," he said.

Post-qualification application (PQA) was vital as teachers often wrongly predicted pupils' grades. If introduced, many more state-educated students would have the confidence to apply to prestigious universities.

Mr Clarke said PQA was "fairer and more transparent" and appointed former Leeds University vice-chancellor Sir Alan Wilson to produce a report on how it should work.

The review recommended aptitude tests like the American SAT to distinguish between straight-A candidates and to spot those from weaker comprehensives.

Professor Schwartz said a small-scale trial of SATs in England had identified students with high potential who got bad A-level grades because they went to state schools that "didn't prepare them well".

Mr Clarke said a new Centre of Expertise On Admissions would research the feasibility of a "national test of potential that is not fully demonstrated by exam results".

The review said universities should use a common application form that enabled candidates to highlight whether they came from a poor postcode.

Admissions tutors would decide whether personal problems caused them to "underperform" at A-level, based on what candidates said in the personal statement section of the form.

They should also tell unsuccessful applicants why they had failed - a move that would be difficult for the most popular universities with 30 or more applicants for every place.