Friday, October 20, 2017

Oxbridge classism

Four-fifths of students accepted at Oxbridge between 2010 and 2015 had parents with top professional and managerial jobs, and the numbers have been edging upwards.Nationally about 31% of people are in the top two social income groups. These are people who work in managerial and professional occupations, such as lawyers and doctors. The data reveals these top two social classes cleaned up in terms of places, with their share of offers rising from 79% to 81% between 2010 and 2015.
A regional bias, with more offers made to Home Counties pupils than the whole of northern England.
 David Lammy MP said he was "appalled to discover" Oxbridge is actually moving backwards in terms of elitism. He said of the universities "In reality many Oxbridge colleges are still fiefdoms of entrenched privilege, the last bastions of the old school tie."
Less than 1% of the adult population graduated from Oxford or Cambridge, but the two universities have produced most of our prime ministers, the majority of our senior judges and civil servants, and many people in the media.
 "Oxbridge take over £800m a year from the taxpayer - paid for by people in every city, town and village. Whole swathes of the country - especially our seaside towns and the 'left behind' former industrial heartlands across the North and the Midlands are basically invisible. If Oxbridge can't improve, then there is no reason why the taxpayer should continue to give them so much money." Lammy explained.

No comments: