Oxford and Cambridge universities not doing enough to recruit poorer students, most Britons believe

Former education secretary Justine Greening warns results should be 'wake-up call' to Britain’s top universities

Some Cambridge University colleges have admitted no black students or have accepted as few as one a year between 2012 and 2016 (Rex)

Nearly three-quarters of Britons believe Oxford and Cambridge universities are not doing enough to recruit students from disadvantaged backgrounds, a new study has found.

Research, commissioned by the former education secretary Justine Greening, suggests elite institutions must do more to ensure students from poorer backgrounds fulfil their potential.

The study, undertaken by the Social Mobility Pledge initiative, which was founded by Ms Greening, also found a belief in degrees as a launchpad for career success may be waning among young people.

Ms Greening warned that the results should be a “wake-up call” to Britain’s top universities that most of the public believe they are not boosting diversity fast enough.

The poll of 2,000 people found 73 per cent of adults questioned said Oxford and Cambridge are not working hard enough to recruit students from poorer households.

Meanwhile, nearly a fifth of respondents said they did not believe university degrees were a valuable pursuit - and young people are even less likely to see degrees as a good investment.

Of the over 55s surveyed, 88 per cent said degrees were definitely or possibly a good investment. But this dropped to 78 per cent in those aged between 18 and 24.

The study comes after an analysis last week revealed that fewer than 3 per cent of students enrolled at Oxford and Cambridge are poor and white.

On the new research, Ms Greening, who was the first education secretary to go to a comprehensive school, said: “These results are a wake-up call to Britain’s top universities that people feel they’re not changing fast enough to be open to all high-quality candidates.

“People want places more clearly offered on merit and potential and less on the basis of where a person grew up, if that’s what principally shaped their grades due to poor access to good education or on grades that frankly are not relevant to do with the course they want to do.”

The former education secretary set up the social mobility pledge after resigning from Theresa May’s cabinet last year after the prime minister tried to move her to the Department for Work and Pensions.

The pledge encourages employers to work with local schools and colleges and adopt open recruitment policies such as name-blind or contextual recruitment. John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Nottingham Trent University are among the organisations that have signed up to the campaign.

The Conservative MP for Putney added: “Higher education providers have a crucial role to play in delivering the boost to social mobility that this country so desperately needs.”

A University of Cambridge spokesperson said the institution was making progress in reaching students from under-represented groups and had seen a rise in the proportion of state school pupils.

They said: “We are committed to making further progress but we cannot do it in isolation. As a country, we must focus on raising ambitions and attainment levels in schools and on changing perceptions among parents and teachers.

“All of our places are offered on merit – which is necessary to make sure that students can cope with the rigours of their course - but we pay close attention to contextual data on socio-economic background and schooling.”

The university unveiled a £500m fundraising campaign in October last year to support students and to ensure the university was fully inclusive of the most diverse talent.

The University of Oxford was approached for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.