Parents ‘lobbying private schools to change A-level grades’

Sutton Trust urges special consideration for disadvantaged students in university admissions

Nearly a quarter of teachers at private schools have been lobbied by parents to change students’ A-level grades this year, prompting a social mobility charity to call for protections for disadvantaged students in university admissions.

Research published by the Sutton Trust on 29 July reveals that 23 per cent of private school teaching staff and 17 per cent of state school teachers in affluent areas have been approached by parents of their students and pushed to improve their grades. At state schools in less well-off areas, 11 per cent of teachers have been lobbied by parents.