Exam results: degrees of success

Editorial. For the individual student, the chance of being able to trade up after better than expected results could be a life-changing one. 

It ought not to be impossible to have a policy for universities that is about both promoting excellence and widening access. But it is important to recognise, all the same, that they are two different things, and there is always a risk that pursuing one objective might jeopardise the other. This year's decision to remove the recruitment cap on students with ABB or higher at A-level may be a case in point. For the individual student, the chance of being able to trade up after better than expected results could be a life-changing one. For the ecology of higher education, a flight to prestige – if it really happened – might deprive some of the newer universities of the students they need in order to remain viable in the long term. Some of those in the system think that in parts of the government, this is now regarded as a desirable consequence.

Even among some ministers who talk about the importance of broadening access, there is a perception that Britain has in practice a two-tier university system: the Russell Group of 24 older universities – and all the rest. More...