Down at Oxford, points really do mean prizes, and not the old university either, but the new one! Oxford Brookes university is offering a £2000 per year discount in top up fees to top students with 3 grade A’s at ‘A Level’, making the offer worth a potential £8000 (its available every year, even if its a 4 year course). That adds up to a substantial saving if you can pull off those A grades.

What this demonstrates is the increasing competition among universities for good quality students. And, as with any market how long will it be before other competing institutions make similar announcements? Indeed, you could push this concept further, what about higher fees - above and beyond the current levy - for weaker students?

Hitting students where it hurts really would be an extra incentive to excell prior to entering university, being a bit of a slacker wouldn’t just mean relegation to clearing, it would also mean a larger overdraught - social engineering at its finest?