It's a really difficult balance to strike, actually maintaining the quality but making sure as many young people as possible and older people as well—there's been a surge in the number of over 25s applying, and we take many people who are over 25. But we've got to get that balance right. It's going to be terribly difficult for us next year.
Given the cuts that the government announced a couple of weeks ago, and the numbers that we know in terms of applications, where are you going to draw that line? Are you going to have to look at cutting intake in order to maintain the quality of the courses?
We're trying not to cut intake at the moment. But what it means is we're going to have to be extra-cautious in the number of offers we make, because we simply cannot afford to go over our quota of the number of places that we can offer. Because if we do, it means that we could be fined, or we just simply haven't got enough money to make sure the students' experience is right. So it means that maybe last year we would allow a few more people to have an offer. This year is going to be tougher.
Do you lay some of the blame for the situation at the door of the government? Interviewee: If you look to France, Sarkozy is actually increasing the budget for higher education. Obama in the U.S. has done the same thing. So we're just slightly puzzled as to why the government seems to be cutting back on higher education rather than pumping more money into what we think is a service that is absolutely vital for the economy.