SIR Paul McCartney’s “fame academy” LIPA has been included on a blacklist of institutions failing to meet their own targets to recruit more poor students.
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) today found itself included among 44 higher education colleges and universities highlighted for not meeting the goals they set themselves in 2009-10.
The world-renowned establishment is included in the Office for Fair Access’s (OFFA) fourth monitoring report, which looks at how much money universities and colleges are spending and how well they are doing at attracting and supporting candidates from poorer backgrounds.
It shows, in 2009-10, English universities and colleges received an overall £1.57bn in additional fee income, gained from tuition fees charged above the basic rate of £1,285.
In return for charging above the basic fee rate, institutions must submit access agreements to OFFA setting out how they plan to help poorer students.
This includes setting their own targets on increasing the numbers of applicants or entrants from poor or under-represented groups, including students from low income backgrounds, under-represented ethnic groups and disabled students.
The city centre-based specialist school for the performing arts, which takes in students aged four to 19, is among 23% of UK institutions said to be falling short in its access agreement pledges, despite making positive progress.
But the report also reveals that around a quarter of students on full state support at the institution, set up with the help of patron Sir Paul, receive a bursary or scholarship.