TONY BLAIR has lifted the threat of a £35 million cut in the public funds which go to maintain Oxford and Cambridge colleges and their privileged "tutorial" system of teaching students singly or in pairs.
Blair, who attended Oxford, is anxious to protect the universities' reputations as international centres for excellence. A senior government source disclosed last night that the prime minister has demanded to see the Whitehall briefing papers on Oxbridge funding and would prevent the two universities from being harmed. A source said: "Oxford and Cambridge are safe. This is a big controversy, and for the sake of £35 million is it really worth the candle?"
Officially, the future of the extra £35 million that goes to Oxbridge is under review by the Higher Education Funding Council, which will report to ministers before Christmas. Gordon Brown, the chancellor, increased expectations that funds would be cut when he told last month's Labour party conference: "When at Oxford and Cambridge half the places go to private schools, it is time to modernise and extend opportunity by redistributing resources." Peers and politicians who hold posts at the universities have been lobbying the prime minister ever since.
As a result, Blair is seeking a compromise that will protect Oxbridge and the modernising credentials of his government. One possibility is a "premium for teaching quality" under which extra money goes to university departments assessed as excellent. Blair will also instigate measures to boost the proportion of state school pupils going to Oxbridge. Stephen Byers, schools minister, will take the first steps when he addresses the private sector Girls' School Association in Bristol. He will urge private schools to instruct state school teachers on how to prepare pupils for Oxbridge entrance. He will also announce the creation of an advisory group to draw up recommendations on how private schools can do more to help state schools.