Gill Wyness
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gillwyness.bsky.social
Gill Wyness
@gillwyness.bsky.social

Economist working on inequality and access to education. Deputy Director of @cepeo-ucl. Research associate of @cep-lse Research fellow @iza_bonn

Education 59%
Political science 11%

Reposted by Gill Wyness

Have you checked out our @cepeo-ucl.bsky.social working paper series recently?

We've had a productive year, with our researchers investigating topics such as

teacher assessed v exam grades

the impact of t-levels

the labour market talent pool

econpapers.repec.org/paper/uclcep...
EconPapers: CEPEO Working Paper Series
econpapers.repec.org
CEPEO welcomes the announcements from this week’s education and skills white paper of index-linking tuition fees and maintenance loans, as well as the return of some non-repayable maintenance grants for disadvantaged students. [1/7] 🧵

New work: do teachers grade some student types more generously than others? (yes)

Important evidence for policymakers considering reducing the use of standardised testing.

And a great paper to work on with my colleagues @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social @opmc1.bsky.social @richmurphy-econ.bsky.social

Reposted by Gill Wyness

we could... and we do!
Jo Blanden (CEP), @GillWyness.bsky.social (CEP), @Opmc1.bsky.social (UCL) and @LindseyMacmillan.bsky.social could explain why private school pupils are more likely to end up in higher-ranked HE courses than peers with similar grades.

Read:
Elite school students end up in better universities than expected, based on their grades | British Politics and Policy at LSE
Students of private and grammar schools are over-represented in elite universities, but only part of that is explained by better grades.
blogs.lse.ac.uk

Reposted by Gill Wyness

We do now :) www.publicfirst.co.uk/couting-the-...

Demand is a lot more elastic for non EU students than the previous estimates of EU students, so we’d expect to see a bigger drop off than the HO estimated
Counting the cost: Modelling the economic impact of a potential levy on international student fees - Public First
In May 2025, HM Government released a white paper called “Restoring Control over the Immigration System”. One policy proposed in this paper was a levy [...]
www.publicfirst.co.uk

Reposted by Becky Francis

The grants will be paid for "by a new levy on international student fees."

Again no details. But assuming the unis will have to pay the levy, and will pass it on to students

Its success will depend on how inelastic international student demand is. We don't have great evidence on this.

The grants will be targeted at students on "priority courses"

This could improve match between students and their degrees by signalling high value courses

Would benefit disadvantaged kids who are more likely to "undermatch"

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....

but will also narrow options
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
www.journals.uchicago.edu

Reposted by Becky Francis

Many of us have been calling for the return of maintenance grants for a long time.

So its great to see this is finally (albeit partially) on the cards.

www.gov.uk/government/n...
Targeted maintenance grants for students to be reintroduced
Disadvantaged students studying priority courses will benefit from extra financial support to access and excel in higher education.
www.gov.uk

Reposted by Gill Wyness

New @cepeo-ucl.bsky.social working paper!

Estimating heterogeneous returns to college by cognitive and non-cognitive ability

by our @opmc1.bsky.social

econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucl:ce...
GCSE results are out:

On the surface, today’s results seem cause for relative optimism.

Despite this cohort’s tough time — both final year at primary & first year of secondary were disrupted by COVID; rates of SEND and mental health issues also up among this group — there’s no results drop off.

Reposted by Gill Wyness

Our academics on A-Level results day

@gillwyness.bsky.social: The slight improvement in those with top grades "masks striking inequalities in achievement"

@miriched.bsky.social: It's unsurprising universities are increasing recruitment "because funding is difficult to manage”
uclioe.info/4fCqEup

👋

Reposted by Dave O’Brien

Do students who follow the "traditional" education pathway (A levels to HE) fare better than those following "non-standard" vocational / mixed pathways - including the infamous T Level?

Our PhD student @robbiemaris.bsky.social
has the answers, in his new paper:
A level results are out! And as many have reported, there was an overall improvement in the proportion of students gaining the top grades.

But its not good news for everyone: with London & the South East continuing to pull away from the rest of the country, and boys slightly ahead of girls.
Today the DfE have published their latest stats on widening participation in HE. Here are a few quick thoughts...
explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statist...

My colleague @dominicpkelly.bsky.social has written a @cepeo-ucl.bsky.social briefing note which looks at how screen time in early childhood (0–5) affects attention and language development.

Read it below:
That BBC screen time story that just hit your home screen?

Our new policy briefing is the must-read for parents, policymakers, and childcare providers: 3 clear, actionable recommendations based on the latest evidence on screen time and cognitive development.

🔗 econpapers.repec.org/paper/uclcep...
EconPapers: The effects of screentime in early years on attention and language
By Dominic Kelly; Abstract: Roughly 9 in 10 children under the age of 5 (defined here as `early childhood') watch video streaming services and
econpapers.repec.org

Reposted by Gill Wyness

That BBC screen time story that just hit your home screen?

Our new policy briefing is the must-read for parents, policymakers, and childcare providers: 3 clear, actionable recommendations based on the latest evidence on screen time and cognitive development.

🔗 econpapers.repec.org/paper/uclcep...
EconPapers: The effects of screentime in early years on attention and language
By Dominic Kelly; Abstract: Roughly 9 in 10 children under the age of 5 (defined here as `early childhood') watch video streaming services and
econpapers.repec.org

The disparities appear to be linked to greater pupil confidence, lower risk aversion, and stronger financial safety nets among private-school students.

Parental strategy and school-level resources also play a role, with private institutions offering superior guidance
and support.

Mechanisms: Its all about university application behavior.

Even the weakest private school students aim higher than their higher achieving state school peers.

Private school students are more likely to overmatch - enrol in more selective uni courses than expected given their grades

This is especially true for low attaining students: where private-school pupils enrol in courses as much as 15 percentiles higher than low attainers from other school types

In the UK, students from fee-paying private schools make up only 7% of the student body at age 16, yet elite positions in society (such as judges and civil servants) are dominated by their alumni.

Our aim is to understand the role these schools play in promoting access to selective universities.

📝New @cepeo-ucl.bsky.social working paper

Why are students from elite high schools much more likely to go to high ranked university courses than equally qualified students from the state sector? 🤔

w @opmc1.bsky.social @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social & Jo Blanden

econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucl:ce...
🔥What’s the only thing hotter than this week’s weather?🔥

Our new @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social working paper:

“School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic”

In it, BU Wheelock PhD @abbyfrancis.bsky.social and I ask:

Has the pandemic permanently changed families' schooling choices?

Reposted by Gill Wyness

New @feweek.bsky.social op-ed from our PhD student @robbiemaris.bsky.social

showing huge improvements in literacy and numeracy for young adults between 2012 and 2023...

but a very concerning lack of progress for the lowest performing students

feweek.co.uk/bottom-10-pe...
Bottom 10% of GCSE retakers missing out on subject success
A decade of GCSE resits and curriculum reforms saw England’s young adults surging up global skills rankings
feweek.co.uk

Reposted by Gill Wyness

Its their first choice...

Once the applicant gets their offers from unis, they have to choose their "firm" (i.e. first choice) and "insurance" (i.e. second choice). If they get the grades to get into their firm choice, they are committed to attending.