HC Deb 12 December 1967 vol 756 c100W
Mr. Grant

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proportion of the entrants to the Foreign Service has been recruited from provincial universities, as opposed to Oxford and Cambridge, in each of the last five years.

Mr. Goronwy Roberts

The total number of direct entrants to the Administrative Grades of the Diplomatic Service by Open Competition from Oxford and Cambridge since 1962 is 136. During the same period 31 entered from other universities, while 3 were non-graduates. A breakdown of these figures is shown below. There is also some graduate entry into the Executive Grades of the Service, although the bulk of recruitment is from non-graduates. The figures for Executive Grade entry are also included in the table.