Overview
- Durham launched an Asian Access scheme this year that gives state-school pupils of Asian heritage who complete a free summer school a guaranteed alternative offer typically two grades lower for selected courses.
- The summer school serves as the route to a contextual offer and includes travel, housing and meals paid by the university.
- Critics, led by Reform MP Robert Jenrick, call the policy anti-white discrimination and cite 2024 data showing 51.4% of Asian pupils entered higher education versus 29.8% of white pupils.
- Durham says British Asian students are underrepresented at Durham specifically, says it targets applicants from neighborhoods with low university progression, and says the plan was agreed with the Office for Students.
- The row fits a wider fight over contextual offers at elite universities such as Oxford, York and Bristol and could shape policy as Reform UK vows to scrap race-based schemes if it gains power.