Almost every Russell Group university is admitting students with lower grades than before the pandemic, raising concerns that academic standards are falling as institutions battle to fill places to repair their finances.
Average entry grades have declined at 22 of the elite group’s 24 universities since 2018-19, analysis by The i Paper found. In that time, the average grades held by students securing places at the universities dropped from around A*AA to just over AAA.
The University of Liverpool has even fallen out of the Government’s “high-tariff” category, Department for Education data shows. This is the first time since 2021 that a Russell Group member has not been classified in the most selective category.
The Reform MPs who face losing their seats according to new poll
Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman are among four Reform UK MPs who would lose their seats if a general election were held tomorrow, fresh polling by YouGov shows.
Falling behind the Tories
Tory defector Danny Kruger and Sarah Pochin – who beat Labour in a 2025 by-election – would also be unseated, according to the leading UK pollster’s first large-scale election modelling since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.
Although the party’s numbers of MPs would hugely increase, it would have fewer seats than the Tories overall, marking a significant fall when compared to last year’s polling.
How a Labour government could be formed
The poll predicts that Labour would be the biggest party in a hung parliament.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey recently ruled out forming a coalition with Reform or the Tories but stopped short of excluding a coalition with Labour.
However, to form a Parliamentary majority in this scenario, Burnham would also need to work with the SNP or Plaid Cymru.
3 min read
5 min read
Reform expanding its operations
The polling comes as Reform is preparing a huge expansion of its operations around the country, targeting London, the South East, the South West and the East of England.
- Analysis of Reform job adverts by The i Paper suggests the party is pumping resources into areas where it wants to keep its high-profile Tory defectors.
There’s turmoil in the Liberal Democrats. And MPs are struggling for direction
Stagnant in the polls but still a potential kingmaker, the party’s at a crossroads – even its own members are asking what comes next.
Record number of assaults on Britain’s trains – what to know
Assaults on Britain’s railways have hit record levels, new figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have revealed.
The numbers
The data published on Thursday showed there were 13,464 reported assaults on people who were not railway workers between April 2025 and March 2026, an increase of 36 per cent compared to the previous year.
- 11,289 assaults on rail workers on mainline networks were also recorded, an increase of 12 per cent. This included 6,390 incidents of verbal abuse, 2,487 physical assaults and 2,412 threats.
Working to make railways safer
No-one on the railway should be subjected to violence, threats or abuse. We’re working with industry and our trade union colleagues to address work-related violence and harassment, including through recent guidance which sets out what we expect from rail employers.
Richard Hines, ORR’s chief inspector railways
Walkers reveals three new crisp flavours
Three new “gold” flavours of Walkers are now available for crisp lovers. The new snacks mark the brand’s biggest revamp in 80 years.
What are the flavours and how much are they?
The new flavours are black truffle, sea salt and olive oil and Somerset mature cheddar and onion.
Each pack is branded as “Premium Potato Crisps”.
The crisps come in 140g bags and can currently be bought for £2 each.
Where you can buy them
The entire range launched on Ocado officially today, but from October 12, they will be widely available in major UK supermarkets for a cheaper price of £1.50.
4 min read
4 min read
Iain Mansfield, a former government policy adviser on universities and head of education at the Policy Exchange think-tank, said the findings “start seriously calling into question the value of a degree from some of these universities”.
But universities said their students consistently achieve “strong outcomes” and there is “no evidence of lowering standards”.
The universities lowering grades
The University of Leeds had the biggest slump in accepted grades, falling by nearly 10 UCAS tariff points. Entry grades fell from the equivalent of nearly A*AA in 2018-19 to between AAA and AAB in 2024-25. Leeds was followed by the University of Birmingham (-9 points), the University of Nottingham (-9 points) and University College London (-8 points).
The University of Birmingham’s entry grades dropped from nearly A*AA to between AAA and AAB, while at the University of Nottingham they slipped from AAA to nearly AAB.
Mansfield said there was a “decline in standards at UK universities, including the most prestigious”.
He blamed this on financial pressures at universities and efforts to widen participation.
‘Accepted students may not succeed’
“If you look at, for example, universities’ policies on contextual offers, some of them are dropping grades by up to two or three A-level grades for students from certain backgrounds,” he said.
“They may well be going too far and admitting students who are not qualified to succeed, or then lowering the standards on the course.”
He claimed lower standards on admissions were being accompanied by lower standards on assessments at many universities, where the widespread use of unsupervised online exams leaves them open to being “gamed” by students using artificial intelligence.
“Overall, that does start seriously calling into question the value of a degree from some of these universities,” he added.
The fall in entry grades comes despite tens of thousands more youngsters competing for places.
The number of people applying for university rose from about 692,000 in 2017-18 to 752,00 in 2023-24, Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data shows, a rise of nine per cent.
Record numbers of students were also accepted into their first choice university this year.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank, said universities are lowering entry criteria to “make sure all their places are filled”, accepting more British students to compensate for falling numbers of international students.
But he added: “Even with these changes, universities are still having to close courses, make staff redundant and put off improvements to their campuses.”
Elite unis: ‘We remain highly selective’
Universities have blamed their financial woes on a freeze on UK tuition fees between 2017 and 2025 and a visa crackdown that has cut the number of international students, who pay as much as £38,000 for undergraduate degrees.
However, Dr Hollie Chandler, director of strategic policy at the Russell Group, said their universities “maintain very high academic standards and data on entry rates demonstrate they remain highly selective”.
She said universities use a range of measures to assess applicants and admit those who have the “potential to succeed and thrive”.
Chandler said students and graduates consistently achieve “strong outcomes” which are well above the regulator’s benchmarks, adding that there is “no evidence of lowering standards”.
A University of Liverpool spokesperson said they are “proud of our track record in attracting students from a range of backgrounds, who have the potential to succeed”.
The university “delivers a world-class teaching and learning experience which sees them develop into outstanding, work-ready graduates”, they said.
A University of Birmingham spokesperson said they “continue to protect our standards and our environment in which the best qualified students can thrive”.
They set a minimum requirement of three Bs at A-level for most courses, although many are “held to a higher threshold”, they said.
The other Russell Group members either declined or did not respond to requests for comment.
Do you have information about this story? We’d love to hear from you – please email alexa.phillips@theipaper.com