Ucas scraps personal statements for university admissions

Ucas Chief Executive Jo Saxton said her aim was to ensure “the doors of opportunity stay open for as many students as possible so that they can benefit from a university education”.

“I saw first-hand how the personal statement can help students really clarify and articulate their ambition, but also how challenging it can be for those with less support,” she added.

The new structured questions will give these students “greater confidence” in applying to university, Mrs Saxton said.

Ucas said the admissions gap between the most and least disadvantaged remains “stubbornly persistent”.

The body said the proportion of people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds who applied to university this year fell in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but rose in Scotland.

Lee Elliot Major, a professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said he believed the reform was a “significant step in making the university admissions system a little bit fairer for all applicants.”