Independent school pupils feel more ready for university, survey finds

State-educated pupils feel less prepared for university in comparison to those which attend an independent school, a new survey has shown.

As reported by Tes, three-quarters of independent school pupils said they felt more academically prepared to go to university, compared with 53 per cent of state school pupils.

The study, which was commissioned by the Headmasters and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) and the Girls’ School Association (GSA), also found that one in 10 students at independent schools said they had been inadequately prepared for university.

One criticism was that they had been given over-structured support at school and wanted to be more independent academically.

Twenty-three per cent of students educated at state schools said they had not been properly prepared for higher education.

These students said good UCAS advice and tips on essay writing skills and referencing were not sufficiently available and that they lacked an insight on what university life and teaching would be like.

The majority of both state and independent school pupils said that teaching standards were better at the school than at university, according to the poll of 500 final-year students.