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Jack Molloy never thought he would go to university. He left school with two lowgrade A levels. "I was sick of education. I was always much better at the hands-on work than the written stuff, and by the end of sixth form I really wasn't interested. I just wanted to get a job and get on with my life." While his friends took gap years, Jack began an apprenticeship as a mechanic. "I really enjoyed …

…strictly on the basis of their ranking in the academic entrance tests. It could be protested that this scheme would accomplish little or nothing that the government's present policy does not. But presentation is all. The device of the coupon makes it clear that there is not a "free market" in higher education but that the state is engaged to ensure fairness and even to discriminate positively. Who on the left could disagree with that?