Parents pay £500 to get their children trained for university entrance exams

One in seven universities now requires applicants to take extra tests on top of A-levels, a report reveals today.

Many are set by Oxford, Cambridge and other elite institutions, which claim public exams alone are not sufficiently demanding to identify the brightest candidates out of hundreds of applicants.

Sixth-formers celebrate their A-Level successes... But many of them are going to find themselves sitting another exam before getting to university

Some universities, however, are using them to check basic literacy, amid fears that students are finishing school without a proper grasp of written English.

The tests cover aptitude, essay-writing, problem-solving, critical thinking and IQ-style questions, the report says.

However, there are fears that the cost of the coaching and the tests will act as a barrier to poorer students.

One test preparation outfit contacted by the Mail is charging £495 for five hours of private coaching, with £90 an hour for each additional hour. On top of this, students face the test fee itself. An admissions test for law used by many leading universities costs £40.

Universities advise pupils to be wary of shelling out for coaching, but providers insist there is evidence that pre-test tuition boosts performance.

The report, by the Universities UK higher education umbrella group, finds that around 25 institutions - around 14 per cent - are using one or more tests.

'Although admissions tests can be useful, many universities are concerned about the impact such tests will have on applicants,' it says. 'They could represent an additional financial burden on applicants, particularly those entering through non-traditional routes.'