Oxbridge Poll
Research Study Conducted for The Mail on Sunday
Research Study Conducted for The Mail on Sunday
- MORI interviewed 603 British adults aged 18+
- Interviews were conducted by telephone on 2 June 2000
- Based on all unless otherwise stated
- Data are weighted to the known population profile
- An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero
- Poll conducted by MORI on behalf of The Mail on Sunday
Q1 Most people say they belong either to the middle class or to the working class. If you had to make a choice, would you call yourself middle class or working class?
| % | |
| Middle class | 35 |
| Working class | 58 |
| Don't know | 7 |
Q2 On balance, do you agree or disagree that Britain is now a classless society?
| % | |
| Agree | 17 |
| Disagree | 76 |
| Don't know/no opinion | 7 |
Q3 Do you have any children? How are old are they?
| % | |
| Under 5 | 12 |
| Aged 5-10 | 14 |
| Aged 11-15 | 11 |
| Aged 16-19 | 9 |
| Aged 20-29 | 17 |
| Aged 30+ | 29 |
| None | 35 |
Q4 And do/does your child/ren attend a state school or private school (that is, a fee-paying school) Base: All who have children aged 0-19 (187)
| % | |
| State school | 73 |
| Private school | 4 |
| Children at both state and private schools | 2 |
| No pre-school age/has left school | 21 |
Q5 Do you believe that educational standards in state schools are higher, lower or about the same as in private schools?
| % | |
| Higher | 5 |
| Lower | 58 |
| About the same | 23 |
| Don't know/no opinion | 14 |
Q6 Do you support or oppose the abolition of private schools?
| % | |
| Support | 18 |
| Oppose | 62 |
| Don't know | 20 |
Q7 If you could afford it, would you send your child to a private school or not? Base: All who have children aged 0-19 (187)
| % | |
| Yes | 57 |
| No | 39 |
| Don't know | 4 |
Q8 Why do you think people choose to send their children to private school?
| % | |
| Better standards of education | 67 |
| Smaller classes/smaller pupil teacher ratio | 16 |
| Status symbol/middle class thing to do | 15 |
| Better start to life/better chance for future career | 14 |
| Better discipline | 7 |
| Better facilities/equipment | 6 |
| Individual /personal education/more support from teachers | 5 |
| Mix with better people | 5 |
| Want the best for my/their child | 3 |
| Better results | 3 |
| Better qualified teachers | 2 |
| Other | 2 |
| Don't know | 6 |
Q9 Do you think Gordon Brown was right or wrong to highlight the individual case of the state school pupil, Laura Spence, who was turned down for a place at Oxford University?
| % | |
| Right | 44 |
| Wrong | 41 |
| Don't know | 15 |
Q10 The Government is considering penalising universities that do not offer enough places to state school pupils. Do you support or oppose this idea?
| % | |
| Support | 59 |
| Oppose | 33 |
| Don't know | 8 |
Q11 Do you think Gordon Brown's comments will make it more or less likely that state school pupils will want to apply for Oxford or Cambridge Universities, or will it make no difference?
| % | |
| More likely | 19 |
| Less likely | 9 |
| Make no difference | 62 |
| Don't know | 10 |
Q12 I am going to read out two statements. Please tell me which comes nearest to your personal opinion. Oxford and Cambridge should ...
| % | |
| offer places based only on candidates' qualifications | 86 |
| offer places based on candidates' qualifications,and taking into account which type of school they come from | 10 |
| Don't know | 4 |
Q13 Tony Blair's slogan at the last election was 'Education, Education, Education'. Do you think standards in state schools have improved, stayed the same or got worse since the Labour Government was elected in 1997?
| % | |
| Improved | 19 |
| Stayed the same | 43 |
| Got worse | 18 |
| Don't know | 20 |
Q14 The Government has introduced tuition fees of 1631,000 a year for university students. Do you support or oppose the introduction of this policy?
| % | |
| Support | 27 |
| Oppose | 66 |
| Don't know | 7 |
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