SOME UNIVERSITIES have proposed to offer bursaries to bright sixth-form students in an attempt to attract them in what has been labelled an "academic arms-race."

With tuition fees increasing after summer, universities such as City University of London, Northumbria, Leicester and Surrey are offering cash incentives to the students with the best exam results.

Limits have been lifted on the number of high-achieving students universities can intake, meaning less prestigious universities feared on losing out on good quality applicants.

These middle-ranking universities are now offering up to £3000 for AAB grades or above students to avoid losing these students to more distinguished universities such as Oxbridge, Imperial or UCL.

This is likely to lead to an "academic arms-race", with other universities being pressured into offering bursaries to students, says the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI).

With teaching budgets being slashed, many institutions are desperate to attract students to replace lost income.

These merit-based rather than need-based scholarships have been criticised as being aimed towards those who don’t need the money, as students who come from a more middle or upper class background are the most likely to achieve the necessary grades, say critics of this policy. Shadow universities government minister, Gareth Thomas, suggests that money that was once used to help financially disadvantaged students enter higher education is now being used as an incentive for high-achieving students who may not require additional support.

A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills claimed that they still plan to give financial support to students from a disadvantaged background, but aside from this, universities are free to use their resources in any way of their choosing in order to attract students.