MIDDLE class pupils with good exam grades have no "entitlement" to go to university, according to Scotland's new widening access commissioner.

Professor Peter Scott said university should not be seen as a "reward" for doing well at school and urged institutions to look at applicants' backgrounds as well as their academic achievements.

Mr Scott's appointment as Commissioner for Fair Access comes after the Scottish Government has made it a priority for universities to recruit more pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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The recent Government-backed Commission on Widening Access said the current system was inherently unfair because it excluded bright candidates from poorer areas.

However, there has been an acceptance that prioritising talented students from poorer backgrounds will displace those from the middle classes who traditionally go to university unless more places are made available.

This will be more obvious in future because all universities have been asked to lower their entry grades for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to recognise the educational disadvantages of growing up in poverty.

Asked about the potential for displacement of middle class students Mr Scott said: "University is not a reward for getting good grades. The grades you get are evidence, but they are not an entitlement and it is very dangerous to define that as an entitlement.

"There are competing ideas of what is fair and it may appear unfair in one context that people with better qualifications get squeezed out by people who come through after only having met an access threshold.

"On the other hand we have to accept the current system is very unfair and there are certain people who are already excluded from higher education or who find it very difficult to get access."

Mr Scott went on to stress that it was the responsibility of all universities to assess the potential of a student with ancient universities "leading from the front".

He said: "You need to recognise the diversity of universities, but ancient universities cannot say that widening access is for someone else to develop so they don't have to bother very much.

"It is very important that Ancient universities are fully engaged because they play a leadership role in the university sector. Because of their fame, their prestige and their leadership role I think you have right to expect more of them, while being sensitive to the changes.

"If that is not the case then you get an awful lot of buck-passing and people say it is all the fault of schools or the early years. Everyone has to take a shared responsibility and there is no opt-out."

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Shirley-Anne Somerville, the higher education minister, said Mr Scott, a former journalist who was knighted in 2007 for services to education and is professor of higher education studies at University College London, had "impeccable credentials" for the job.

She said: "I am delighted he will be leading on this area of work and look forward to the new and challenging perspective he will bring to the role.

"We are very clear that a child born in our poorest communities should, by the time they leave school, have the same chance of going to university as a child born in our wealthiest communities. That is what we are determined to achieve."

Professor Andrea Nolan, convener of Universities Scotland, welcomed the "important appointment".

She added: "Scotland must seize the opportunity to address the shared challenge of widening access in a joined-up way across schools, colleges and universities.

"His role as commissioner is vital in marshalling schools, colleges, universities and others to address the challenge to close the attainment gap and promote wider access to higher education."

Vonnie Sandlan, president of student body NUS Scotland, said: "We know education is a transformative experience for individuals, communities and Scotland as a whole, and the responsibility to ensure that it's in reach for every child in Scotland is incumbent on us all."

The Scottish Government has set the goal of having 20 per cent of those starting university by 2030 coming from the country's most deprived areas.

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Earlier this week it emerged that entry rates to university for Scottish 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas was 51 per cent higher than in 2006. However, offer rates to Scottish applicants fell to 60 per cent in 2016 as the increase in numbers applying outstripped extra places.