A sense of déjà vu

Jocey Quinn's article about the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service inviting applicants to record whether their parents attended university ("The truth about the Mummy and Daddy factor", Opinion, July 6) made me wonder if the removal of parental occupation from the Universities Central Council for Admissions application forms 20 years ago has been forgotten. The pressure for removal then arose from the perception that the child of (say) a dustman might be disadvantaged in the competition for university places. Have we turned full circle?

Sir David Harrison
Chairman, Ucca (1984-91)