Favoured state pupils will 'drop out'

A-levels "are not the only measure of potential"

Discriminating in favour of state school applicants will increase university drop-out rates, an expert has warned.

State school students favoured over others with higher grades will "fail their first examinations and drop out", according to Brian Heap, author of Degree Course Offers, which lists required grades for all UK university courses.

The government wants 50% of people below the age of 30 to have experienced higher education by 2010.

But the lower the student's social class, the more likely they are to drop out.

It is absolutely essential to maintain academic standards while making universities more accessible to young people from a wider range of backgrounds

Department for Education and Skills

Education secretary Estelle Morris believes degrees should no longer be just the "birthright" of the middle classes.

Last month Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge told the Social Market Foundation think tank in London that, according to history tutors at Bristol University, positive discrimination had led to their best intake.

But most universities attribute Britain's low drop-out rate - second only to Japan's - to admissions tutors' expertise matching applicants to courses.

Although A-levels "are not the only measure of potential", according to the Department for Education and Skills.

"Universities are showing that there are other ways of assessing ability that may be effective," a spokeswoman said.

"It is absolutely essential to maintain academic standards while making universities more accessible to young people from a wider range of backgrounds," she concluded.