The University of Durham, one of Britain’s oldest universities, has announced plans for a so-called ‘Asian Access’ programme which will allow Asian state-school candidates to enter the university with lower qualifications (essentially two grades lower) than others for a limited range of courses. The Mail has the story:

Under a controversial new scheme, the University of Durham is lowering entry requirements for British Asians in popular subjects including psychology, law and politics.

It is promising “a guaranteed, alternative offer (typically two grades lower)” to state school pupils of “Asian heritage/descent” who take part in a free summer school with accommodation, travel and food provided.

But critics point out that Asian teenagers are already far more likely to get into university than those from other ethnic groups, with more than half of sixth-formers accepted.

Official figures show that 51.4% of Asian state school pupils across England got places in higher education in 2024, compared with just 29.8% of white students.

Only Chinese pupils had a higher rate of acceptance (66.1%), with black pupils third (48%).

Reform MP and former minister Robert Jenrick told the Daily Mail: “This is a blatant case of anti-white discrimination.”

The university doesn’t see it that way:

A Durham University spokesman said: “We encourage applications from talented students of all backgrounds. Our admissions decisions are fair, non-discriminatory and based on published entry criteria.

“We agreed with the Office for Students as part of our published access and participation plan that we would increase our numbers of British students of Asian heritage who are currently underrepresented at Durham, along with students from other underrepresented groups.”

The Express said there was “outrage” about the plans, which cover courses in Biosciences, Psychology, Finance, Law, and Politics.

Interested parties had better look sharp. On the university’s Asian Access page it seems the deadline is Sunday April 19th. The website lists the eligibility criteria but points out that of course there are ways round:

We understand some students may experience mitigating circumstances, which can mean their results do not reflect their true potential. If this applies to you, please inform us in your application form. The teacher who supports your application can provide further details of any such circumstances through their part of the process too. Therefore, you may wish to speak with them about this before submitting your application.

Read More: Advantageous ‘Asian Access’ to Durham University