Widening access to universities for more pupils from state schools and working-class backgrounds remains the elusive aim of the Government and universities.

Many universities spend a great deal of time and money sending ambassadors and running outreach programmes to persuade more pupils from state schools to apply. But ministers and vice-chancellors remain frustrated by a lack of progress.

Although the Government has set aspirational targets for universities to widen their intake, and some funding is contingent on this, the proportion of university entrants from lower social backgrounds remains stuck at about 28 per cent.

This is, of course, much more of a problem for the top tier of universities, let’s call them the selecting universities, than for those who struggle to fill courses, the recruiting universities.

But it remains a hard nut to crack and the solution of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) to include more “contextual data” on university application forms remains controversial. Independent schools have criticised such attempts at widening working-class participation as social engineering, amid fears that such measures will discriminate against their pupils, most notably students from poor families who are in receipt of bursaries.

Such fears may be overstated. University admissions tutors already pay a great deal of attention to the school background of applicants. For their part, top schools can be relied on to alert admissions tutors, in their references for pupils, to a youngster who is the first in his or her family to apply to university.

A more proper objection may be that the inclusion of more contextual data simply won’t make much difference. A more effective approach might be to provide students with better advice on what subjects to study at A level to gain admission to the best courses for them and a concerted campaign to get pupils to set their sights on university from a young age.

The idea that Ucas even considered – before rejecting sensibly – the idea that the religion and sexuality of a pupil might be included on application forms raises serious questions about what other irrelevant personal information may be required on such forms if the contextual data route is pursued further.

Explore Education

• Schools

• GCSE & A Level Results

• Good University Guide

• Sunday Times University Guide

• Student

• Young Times

Times recommends

• Google generation has no need for rote learning
• Left-handers do 'less well' in exams
• Nativity comic books for multicultural Britain