If anything, candidates from fee-paying schools were continuing to win disproportionately large numbers of places.

The findings, on the eve of this year’s A-level results, came in the largest study undertaken by the Independent Schools Council of university admissions. It concluded that admissions tutors treated candidates fairly, despite repeated allegations of prejudice from parents and schools. Rejection rates of up to 80 per cent at some universities simply reflected increased competition for places.

“It is likely that rejections which may have seemed discriminatory to parents and schools have, in fact, been due to a large rise in suitably qualified applicants,” the report said.

The ISC also found no evidence that students from fee-paying schools were expected to achieve higher grades than state-sector applicants.

Independent schools have alleged possible bias at a number of leading universities in recent years, including Edinburgh, Durham, the London School of Economics, Manchester, Nottingham and University College London.

The Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) and the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) urged their member schools to boycott Bristol University in 2003 after accusing it of imposing quotas as part of a secret class war against their pupils. Both organisations now say that no discrimination exists.

The ISC examined 20,000 applications by fee-paying students from 375 schools to 10 popular courses at 30 “highdemand” universities, including all of the Russell Group of 19 top institutions. Rejection rates ran highest in English, history and law. Only 19 per cent of fee-paying applicants to Bristol for history received an offer, the lowest rate for any subject. However, the ISC concluded that this was because it was one of the most oversubscribed courses in the country, with 1,771 applications for just 100 places last year.

The number of private students admitted to Cambridge had remained “virtually static” since 1999, but applications had increased by nearly 20 per cent.

As a result, the success rate had dropped from 35 to 28 per cent. Applications from the state sector had followed the same pattern.

Applications to study humanities at Newcastle had risen by 72 per cent since 2000. Yet 94 per cent of fee-paying applicants in history received an offer this year. “It hardly suggests discrimination against the independent sector; rather that independently educated students are holding their own in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” the survey said.

Overall, 81 per cent of applications received an offer of a university place, despite increased demand. This rose to 100 per cent at many universities for applicants in sciences, mathematics and modern languages.

The report said that was due in part to problems with the provision of these subjects in state schools.

A spokesman for Bristol said that it was pleased the ISC had acknowledged its error. “We took quite a pasting when the ISC suggested bias. This was galling since no such bias has ever existed.

“We’re prejudiced in favour of ability, motivation and potential — nothing else.”

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