Plans to stop students with lower grades going to university might be dropped, minister says

’We might not do it,’ Michelle Donelan says – after criticism that poor and minority ethnic youngsters will miss out

(EPA)

Controversial plans to prevent teenagers going to university if they fail to achieve tougher minimum school grades could be dropped, a minister has suggested.

The proposals – widely criticised for penalising disadvantaged students – are an attempt to “start a conversation”, Michelle Donelan said, adding: “We might not do it.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has joined the outcry at the new barriers in the way of higher education, warning youngsters from minority ethnic backgrounds and on free school meals would suffer.