The admissions tutors were asked to rate the qualities they most valued in would-be students in the study for an international school group.

More than three quarters (78%) of admissions tutors said they did not look at data on whether applicants´ parents had been to university and only about a third (35%) considered that "evidence of success through a difficult start or background" was important.

Some 80 UK admissions officers were interviewed for the survey, amounting to about a third of all admissions department heads, spanning a range of universities.

The ability to think and work independently was rated as important or very important to 72% of those interviewed.

A reasonable grasp of maths was important or very important for almost half (44%), while work experience and having held positions of responsibility and leadership was highly rated by fewer than a third.

The survey also asked admissions tutors for their views on the relative merits of A-levels, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Scottish Highers.

Those questioned rated A-levels highest for subject expertise but found the IB better for qualities such as encouraging independent inquiry and training students to cope with pressure.