Facts not fiction will aid access 2

Your Access supplement deals in as much fiction as it does fact.

We need to get away from the fiction of "leading universities" and instead talk about the fact of leading university schools, leading subject areas and leading academics.

For example, in subject areas connected with the creative industries, relatively few of those "leading" universities in your supplement have leading schools in these subjects.

It is time we gave the right steer to careers advisers and potential university entrants about the subject-specific nature of excellence. That is what widening participation is about: ensuring that student talent and ambition meet real excellence in higher learning.

Graeme Harper
Portsmouth University