A report suggests that students who attended private school are significantly more likely to fear being 'cancelled' on campus compared to their state-educated peers. The study also found that privately educated students are more confident in their oratorical skills but still have concerns about offending or being cancelled.
Students who went to private school are 'significantly more likely' to fear being cancelled on campus than their state-educated peers, according to a report. Polling of around 10,000 students found one in ten said they did not feel comfortable expressing their views if there was a chance others might disagree.
Of this group, a quarter – 25 per cent – said it was because they were 'worried about being cancelled'. But when broken down by school type, private school alumni were much more likely to feel this way, with 38 per cent selecting this reason. This compares with only 24 per cent of former state school pupils.
The report, from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank, is the first to suggest pupils' perception of free speech may differ according to their social background. One of the report's authors, Charlotte Armstrong, said: 'One possibility we have discussed is that students who have been to a private school may have just had less opportunity to interact with a broader part of society, make those mistakes and see that the consequences are not as scary as they think they are.
'Whereas for students who've already had that opportunity to get things wrong, and continue on with their life and still have social circles and friendships, that fear might be slightly less. ' Conversely, it appears privately educated students are more confident in their oratorical skills than their state-educated counterparts. One of the biggest reasons for students not feeling comfortable expressing their views was a lack of confidence in public speaking, with 52 per cent selecting this.
However, among privately-educated students, only 36 per cent felt this way – compared with 55 per cent of state-educated students. Many private schools put great emphasis on inter-school debating competitions, but this is not always replicated across state schools. Rose Stephenson, another co-author, said of privately educated students: 'They may have confidence in those skills, but there is still that concern over offending or being cancelled.
It's interesting that they may have something that some other students don't, but there's still a fear there.
' She added that it is 'positive' that the Government's landmark curriculum review has recommended a greater focus on oracy skills in state schools. The annual survey, which was weighted, was carried out this year between January and April. It also showed students are now spending only 11 hours per week on independent study such as assignments and reading. The number of hours has been in steady decline since 2021, when it was 16.
The authors suggested one explanation could be that students are using artificial intelligence to speech up their assignments, for example by structuring their arguments or fact-checking. The wide-ranging report also showed 45 per cent of students said their course's value for money was 'good' or 'very good', up from 37 per cent in 2025.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said: 'The results of this survey show that universities are delivering for students, running counter to recent narratives about the value of a degree.
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