OXFORD admissions tutors were accused yesterday of being biased against girls.
They are twice as likely to welcome boys with the same academic qualifications, according to a survey. They are also more likely to admit comprehensive school pupils than privately-educated candidates. And, contrary to popular belief, they are not biased against working-class students.
The study of 4,539 candidates applying in 2002 for the following autumn reveals how admissions tutors appeared to 'discount' the GCSE grades of girls and privately-educated applicants. They seemed to believe that girls' good grades reflected their 'more conscientious approach to coursework'.
Boys, on the other hand, showed greater potential for good performance in exams which form the basis of Oxford's degree system. They are more than twice as likely to be accepted for a place at Oxford than girls with the same academic record, according to the study by leading sociologist Professor Anthony Heath, a fellow of Nuffield College. Boys stand a 40 per cent chance of gaining a conditional offer while for women with the same grades the figure is 17 per cent. Some, but not all, of the difference is explained by girls' tendency to apply for the most competitive courses. Boys are more likely to seek places on science courses which have fewer applicants.
South Asian applicants appear to do less well in university admissions tests, the survey reveals. White candidates, and boys in particular, tended to do better, explaining their greater chances of being accepted. But in maths and medicine the disadvantages in the selection process for girls and South Asians all but disappears, according to the study.
Professor Heath, writing in the Oxford Magazine, said the university is left with some 'unexplained disadvantages for candidates from independent schools and for South Asian and women candidates.' He says that 'prejudice or stereotyping on the part of the selectors cannot be ruled out'. Privately-educated applicants are also at a disadvantage because tutors appear to think more intensive teaching had given them flattering GCSE grades. The research found that students' performance at GCSE is more closely related to their chances of winning a place at Oxford than their AS or A-level results. Professor Heath will now track the students through their degrees to determine whether dons are accurately selecting the candidates most likely to succeed.
A spokesman for Oxford said: 'Our admissions policy is, and will remain, to select solely on the basis of academic merit and potential, without regard to school type, ethnicity, gender or any other factor. If, on the basis of further work, bias is proved to exist, we will immediately take steps to root out that bias.'
l.clark@dailymail.co.uk