Social mobility within universities has been a major source of debate for some time, with many arguing that minority groups are underrepresented and are not provided with equal opportunities. Grammar schools have been credited with helping those groups achieve greater success, as data shows that the majority of MBE students at top universities are from selective areas. However, many others argue that the negatives outweigh the benefits.

Others would argue that the process of entering grammar school is selective and this is followed by a university that is also selective, often skirting responsibilities concerning diversity and balanced representation. Also, those pupils that fail to pass their 11+ exams find themselves at a major disadvantage and the benefits of attending a grammar school quickly begin to disappear. As a result, some academics are arguing that grammar schools can be a hindrance to social mobility.

This report considers the argument from both sides of the fence, made up of a collection of responses to an earlier paper that called The Impact of Selective Secondary Education on Progression to Higher Education. This paper raised so many questions among academics, that these five responses were offered by experts keen to keep the debate going.

The resource will be useful to anyone working in Higher Education, policy-making or student support.

You might also be interested in:

• Office for Students 2019-2020 Report - Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England (report) - The Office for Students, the regulatory body that ensures education providers in the UK are financially viable and sustainable, has released a report describing the financial results and forecasts submitted to it by providers for 2019-2020
• How universities can better support mature students returning to education - Part Two (blog) - the second part of a two-part blog post, covering the experiences of a mature student on a distance learning course with the Open University and making recommendations to HE institutions
• Using creativity to open up digital worlds to adult learners (blog) - discusses the DEPAL project that explores and develops ways to bring together creative facilitation and digital storytelling to support adult educators across Europe
• Welsh universities driving climate change initiatives (blog) - explores four universities in Wales that are committed to environmental protection and promote green values 
• Forum Theatre: Its empowerment of, and community building role amongst, migrant women (blog) - Sinead Graham's winning Star Supporter Competition entry that describes the work of FemTalks Forum and enables migrant women to build skills for employability and inclusion