Leading universities have defended their record on admitting ethnic minority students ¨C arguing that inequality takes root long before pupils apply to higher education ¨C after they were criticised by David Cameron.

, the prime minister claimed that the low numbers of black and ethnic minority students winning places at the UK¡¯s most prestigious universities ¡°should shame our country¡± and called on institutions to ¡°go the extra mile¡± to root out the ¡°ingrained, institutional and insidious¡± attitudes that held people back.

He singled out his alma mater, the University of Oxford, for criticism, saying that it was ¡°striking¡± that it had admitted only 27 black men and women in 2014 out of a total intake that exceeded 2,500.

New rules, , will require all universities to publish data on applications, admissions and retention in key disciplines, broken down by gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic background.

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But an Oxford spokeswoman said that the university did ¡°not see the need for further legislation¡±, highlighting that it had for many years been publishing much of the information that the prime minister was demanding.

She said that Oxford had ¡°made progress¡± on diversifying its intake ¡°against a challenging backdrop of changes to the educational landscape and student funding¡±, stating that 367 of its UK undergraduates enrolled in 2015 were , a 15 per cent increase on 2010. Sixty-four were black, compared with 39 in 2010.

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¡°The effects of social inequality are already pronounced before children begin formal schooling, and universities, schools and government must work together to address their root causes effectively,¡± the spokeswoman said.

¡°Any serious solution to the problem of unequal educational progression must take into account the unequal distribution of high attainment across schools, socioeconomic groups, even geography.¡±

Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said universities ¡°cannot solve this problem alone¡±.

¡°There are still far too many children from disadvantaged backgrounds underachieving at school and receiving poor advice and guidance,¡± Dr Piatt said. ¡°It will take time, commitment, and sustained action from a range of agencies to raise pupils¡¯ aspirations, increase attainment and improve the advice and guidance offered.¡±

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However, Les Ebdon, the director of fair access to higher education, said Mr Cameron was ¡°right to highlight the wide gaps ¨C both in access and outcomes ¨C between students of different ethnic backgrounds¡±.

¡°It is important that universities retain responsibility for their own admissions policies but I am very pleased to see the commitment to increased data and transparency around the make-up of student bodies,¡± Professor Ebdon said.

¡°This will build on information which is already made available by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.¡±

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com