PROPOSALS by government advisers for universities to get candidates A-level marks as well as their grades, allowing them to discover who, among the brightest, are the best, may be seen by critics as a stride towards greater elitism in higher education.

But against a background of concern that the A-level qualifications have been devalued by ever-rising pass rates, and it becoming less of an externally-assessed examination and more of a course evaluated in-house, this move may do much to uphold or restore the standard.

And as for the elitist aspect, is it not the case that those who enter universities form an elite already in any case - even if there are marked distinctions within it, between the former polytechnics and the old Oxbridge varsities?

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