Milton Keynes would be favourite in competition for new university, says think tank as it spells out urgent need for new full-time places
A competition for where to establish a new university in the UK should be held in the name of Queen Elizabeth II to meet rising demand for places, a think tank has said.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, has suggested running a competition similar to the application process to achieve city status.
Many of the late Queen’s predecessors have had universities established in their name. King’s College London was named after King George IV, Queen’s University Belfast after Queen Victoria and Queen Mary University of London after Queen Mary.
“We also have a number of Oxbridge colleges named after royals,” Mr Hillman said. “How fitting it would be if we were now to found a new university in the late Queen’s memory.”
The Higher Education Policy Institute has predicted that the UK needs 350,000 extra full-time university places for home students in England by 2035 because of both an increase in 18-year-olds and an increase in the proportion of school-leavers ready, able and keen to attend higher education.
“I wonder if we could have a competition, as with city status, to determine where such a new university, or universities, might go,” Mr Hillman said. “If this all sounds mischievous or opportunistic, I would merely ask if not now, then when? We cannot sensibly serve the future growing demand for higher education from existing institutions alone.”
When the Queen ascended the throne in 1952 there were only 18 universities in the UK and 85,000 full-time students. Today, there are 145 universities and 2.2 million students.
Mr Hillman suggested that Milton Keynes, which he believes is the largest settlement in the UK without a standard university, would be an appropriate location for a new institution. Milton Keynes was formally designated a city this year as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
UCAS, the university admissions service, has predicted there will be a total of one million applicants to attend UK higher education institutions in 2026, up from around 700,000 this year.
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