Discrimination against working-class students in UK top universities

Russell Group universities must tackle discrimination against students with working-class backgrounds, campaigners say.

According to the Guardian, students within the UK's top universities are being mocked over their backgrounds and regional accents. Not only that, but their accents were used against them, to assess their academic abilities. Some of the cases of discrimination are so bad that students are forced to leave their studies.

This comes as an inquiry was launched last month at Durham University, as wealthier students were found planning a competition to sleep with the poorest student that they could find at the university.

The lead commissioner for the Social Mobility Commission, Sammy Wright, found that in areas where social mobility is low, "often the only way to grasp opportunities involved moving away from where they were brought up – to go to university or find jobs".

He added: "In my own work in schools in the north-east, accent can become a marker of everything else, a tangible barrier – most of all to the young people themselves, who internalise a sense of social inferiority."

Some studies have shown how different regions of the UK have stark differences in how many of their younger population attend university.

The director for fair access and participation at the Office for Students, Chris Millward, said: "It is crucial that universities strive to create an open and inclusive culture for all. There is no such thing as a 'right' accent or background for higher education – all students deserve the opportunity to thrive, no matter where they come from,"