Boys are missing out on free places at summer schools in Cambridge because they are too embarrassed to apply.

The Sutton Trust, an organisation set up to raise the academic potential of students from under-privileged backgrounds, raised the issue of gender imbalance after the proportion of boys attending the residential courses fell below 30 per cent last year. Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Trust, said “This is serious as we are concerned that boys from non-privileged homes are not getting the opportunities they need to go on to a top university”. He added that the lack of interest may be due to the fact that “boys are too shy to apply”.

The scheme was first introduced in Cambridge in 1998 and courses are currently run at Robinson and Sydney Sussex. Last year, only 200 of a total of 900 attending courses at Cambridge were boys. National figures for the summer schools, which also run at Oxford, Bristol, Nottingham and St Andrews, reveal a similar pattern. Last year the courses received 3,349 applications, but of these less than 1000 were from boys. No solution has been offered to address this stark imbalance.

The summer schools are for 6th Form students and form part of the University’s programme aimed at encouraging achievement and aspiration among young students, many of whom are from homes where neither parent attended university.

Schools and College Liaison Officer Xina Moss said, “the University of Cambridge wants to admit people on academic merit alone and realise that people are put off from applying because of misconceptions about the University”.

Those who receive places on the week-long courses attend lectures, meet tutors and “take part in the usual social activities with the help from current students acting as mentors”. Lesley Gannon, Cambridge University’s Head of Widening Participation was positive about the impact the summer schools can have on students. “A large proportion of students that attend Sutton Trust Summer Schools go on to apply to Cambridge or other Russell Group Universities and many go on to gain places. Some even come back as volunteers on the scheme”.

Overall, one third of students go on to achieve a place at the university at which they took a summer course. Of the 64 students who attended the first ever summer schools, 14 gained a place at Oxford University the next year. Former participant David Eves went on to study Engineering at Cambridge. He said, “As far as I knew, nobody from my school had ever gone to Cambridge and I thought it was just for people from Eton. Meeting Cambridge students completely changed my mind about it. I realised that they're normal people, like everyone else, and that I did fit in here”.

Most colleges have their own outreach schemes targeting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of which operate during the summer vacation.

Tom Moriarty