Are we missing out?

Interesting new data on the number of foreign students deciding to study at British universities is both welcome and shocking at the same time. Welcome as in brings in necessary funds to hard pressed places of higher education. It is estimated that £10 billion has pored into the confers of these establishments and to local economies. Its our second largest export/import to China after cars. The UK attracts some half a million students a year. However the distribution is not across the board, but to the top Russell Group universities. Needless to say Oxford and Cambridge do very well, but so do the London School of Economics, Imperial, University College and Kings College. Other places outside the Golden Triangle, like Durham, Exeter, Sheffield and Bristol are also doing well. One student from Germany said that he wanted to study at Oxford as they still make you do essays. In Germany that is apparently not the case. The down side is that these international students who are highly qualified are by degrees pushing out some of our brightest from the top rank places. According to some admission officers that is becoming the case. Nick Hillman of the Higher Education Policy Institute think tank said "there is some evidence that is happening". On the other hand David Willetts until recently in the Cabinet as minister for universities and science and is now a visiting professor at Kings College is far more optimistic about the long term prospects for out higher education profile.