YORK St John University has been commended in a report for its work to improve access to higher education.

Former Education Secretary Justine Greening, visiting the university, said the grades determining an individual’s future beyond school could be a crude measure of their potential. "Poor grades often don’t tell the full story,perhaps masking mitigating circumstances and extra challenges that the person has faced," she said.

She praised the university for developing a distinctive and innovative 'contextual' offer scheme when considering applications.