Scottish universities try to shed 'tweedy' image

Two of Scotland's oldest and most prestigious universities are to widen their admissions criteria to attract students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

As part of an attempt to shed their elite, "tweedy" images, Edinburgh and St Andrews aim to provide otherwise deprived youngsters with a greater chance of going on to higher education. Professor Timothy O'Shea, who took up the post of principal of Edinburgh University this week, has announced that he would even be prepared to give a place to a pupil from a disadvantaged background with lower exam grades in preference to a high-flying independent school student.

The former master of Birkbeck College, London, bases his policy on assessing which student would gain the greater benefit from a university education. Instead of relying solely on exam results, Professor O'Shea believes Edinburgh should accept a teacher's assessment of a pupil's capability, taking into account background and life experiences.

By opening its doors to underprivileged but educationally gifted youngsters he hopes to change the image of Edinburgh as a "snobby place full of tweedy people with English accents". "We have to be fair and that means looking at what someone has achieved given the resources that were available to them," said Professor O'Shea. "Teachers can make a good prediction of how a pupil could perform. They can tell us an awful lot about that student, more than a single exam result can, and that has to be taken seriously."

Edinburgh's move towards widening access to students from deprived backgrounds is shared by St Andrews. As one of the country's most prestigious academic establishments, enjoying increased international popularity since Prince William chose to be a student there, it has often been regarded as a favourite choice of the wealthy upper-middle classes. But now Stephen Magee, director of admissions at St Andrews, has said it would also give deprived students a fairer chance of gaining admission by taking into account school and teachers' reports as well as grades.

The move by Edinburgh and St Andrews is seen by Universities Scotland, the body that represents 13 of the country's universities, as a "taste of things to come". A spokesman, Robin McAlpine, said: "Admissions policies for the near future in most universities will continue to be based on standard qualifications but there is growing interest in trying to develop other ways to assess the potential of candidates.

"This is not so much a policy change, as it's not something which is yet being widely implemented, but more of a sea change in attitudes. We are beginning to realise in Scotland that qualifications are just one aspect of assessing the potential of a candidate."

Professor O'Shea believes that by adopting a fairer approach he can rid Edinburgh of its elite and stuffy image of "hooray Henrys and Henriettas" within 10 years. He said: "A-grades are not a currency with which to buy a university place. They are just an indicator of a person's capability to work hard. There are other ways of assessing that."