Geoffrey Alderman

Social inequality is a problem, but universities can’t solve it alone

In 1962 I made the leap of a lifetime – from a severely cash-limited working-class household in Hackney (my father had been a packer in a Whitechapel warehouse) to Oxford University. No obstacles were put in my way. Educated at an LCC secondary school, I spent a week at Lincoln College, taking exams for admission to the BA (Hons) in Modern History, and answering questions at a series of intellectually punishing academic interviews. No concessions were made to my socio-economic background. Nor, incidentally, did I benefit from any private tuition, which my parents could never have afforded. I was awarded an Exhibition (a form of scholarship) on merit. Had the college and the university said – perhaps not in so many words – that I had not reached the required standard but that nonetheless some sort of allowance had been made for my parents’ economic circumstances, or (worse still) for my ethnic origins, I would have felt deeply insulted. But no such dialogue ever took place.

I tell this story because Prime Minister David Cameron has this past weekend launched what I take to be a politically motivated attack against the university both he and I attended. In 2014 Oxford admitted only 27 black students out of more than 2,500. In an article for the Sunday Times, Cameron wrote: ‘I know the reasons are complex, including poor schooling, but I worry that the university I was so proud to attend is not doing enough to attract talent from across our country.’ He also touched upon the figures for white men from poorer backgrounds, who are ‘five times less likely to go into higher education than others.’

Assuming that these figures are more or less correct, Cameron needs to ask himself why poor white people are much less likely ‘than others’ to enter higher education.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in