Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Dearing (Crossbench). It was answered on Thursday, 5 July 2007.

Universities: Admissions

Question: My Lords, I thank the Minister sincerely for his reply, as I had hoped that he would wish to undertake research. In this research, will he note that, when gender is brought into the equation, girls born in September are 50 per cent more likely to get a university place than boys born in August? That suggests that maturity, as powerfully indicated by gender and age at entry, is a major factor in the educational opportunities being offered to our children. We are seriously failing children who, through their relative lack of maturity, are not responded to properly by the educational system. This needs to be researched, and I welcome the Minister’s response.

Answer: My Lords, I notice that the noble Lord was born at the end of July, which means that, as many of us had suspected, his advancement in life was because of natural brilliance and hard work and nothing whatever to do with birth dates. Of course, he raises an issue that is immensely serious, which is why we have commissioned research from the Centre for the Economics of Education, an organisation jointly run by the LSE, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the University of London’s Institute of Education. We will receive its report in October, and I will look forward to having further discussions with the noble Lord and other interested noble Lords after that.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 693 c1132-3
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Admissions Age Higher education Pupils Standards Universities Schools Research
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk