Removing the spotlight from schooling risks losing the focus necessary to improve the results of the groups that fall behind, says Alan Smithers of the University of Buckingham.
The number of students taking physics at A level, for example, has halved since 1988, according to the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham.
All undergraduate education outside the private University of Buckingham is largely state financed, with a small contribution from top-up fees.
