Pushy parents act as 'agents'

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The BBC reported last week that so many parents have been chasing university places for their children the admissions system is now letting parents act as their agents. Students entering university this autumn will be the first whose admissions decisions and negotiations can be handled by their parents.

Universities are facing the growing phenomenon of "helicopter parents" - the over-involved parents who want to continue interfering in the lives of their children at university.

Frank Furedi, social commentator and professor of sociology at the University of Kent, says that controlling parents are "destroying the distinction between school and higher education".

"All universities now have to take the parent factor into account. On university open days you can see more parents attending than children," says Professor Furedi.  He says there have been cases of parents who arrive expecting to attend their children's university interviews.

Rob Evans, head of admissions at Sussex University, says that universities are seeing an increasing amount of involvement from parents when students are making applications.

He links it to the increased cost of university and also to a more over-protective form of parenting. Safety fears mean that children can grow up with less independence, such as not being allowed to walk to school, and this attitude filters through to when young people apply to university.

Read the full story on the BBC’s website.