DURHAM University this week defended its policy of favouring North-East state school pupils.

Marlborough College head Edward Gould, who is chairman of the Headmasters' Conference, accused the university of making lower A-level grade offers to state pupils than private pupils. He told the annual conference in Newport, Wales, on Monday that the admissions policy in the law faculty at Durham was worrying the fee-paying sector.

The university admits its Local Applicants' Programme, which has been running for ten years, encourages law applications from local pupils and mature students.

A spokesman said: "Some may be made a slightly lower offer than normal - but this is only done where the academic judgement of ability and potential has been based on interview."

He said the university also visited nearly 90 state schools in the region and organised pupil visits to the university.

"It goes some way to encourage schools to send able applicants to Durham, where otherwise they would not," he said. "It also provides opportunities for state school students in our home region who have excellent academic potential to raise their aspirations in higher education."

Law is Durham's most oversubscribed subject with 2,000 applicants for 100 places last year. About 54 per cent of those accepted came from state schools.

Overall, two-thirds of admissions to Durham this year are from the state sector, a rise of about three per cent.

The spokesman said: "Our overall approach is to encourage applications from the most able people whatever their background."