7. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the actions that the Welsh Government is taking to improve the numbers of Welsh students attending Oxbridge universities? OAQ51270

Thank you very much, Caroline. The Seren network has been established to support young people in their ambitions to apply to leading universities across the UK and internationally, and that includes Oxbridge. Feedback this year suggests that many more applications are now being made to both Oxford and Cambridge universities, who are active and strong supporters of our Seren programme.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for your answer. According to the access fellow at Jesus College, Oxford, Welsh students lack the confidence to apply to Oxbridge and, whilst the Seren programme is helping some students, we're still not doing enough to challenge our best and brightest pupils. Cabinet Secretary, what steps are you taking to ensure that Welsh students not only achieve excellent grades but also have the confidence to achieve their full potential?

Thank you, Caroline. I'd be very pleased to share with the Chamber, if Members are not aware, the latest Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data on applications to Oxford and Cambridge universities and also to vet courses and medical courses, where the applications have to be made by 15 October. I'm very pleased to say that there has been an upturn in applications to that. Applications from Wales for courses with 15 October deadline are up 6 per cent, despite a significant drop in the 18-year-old cohort. Applications for medical courses are up 2 per cent. I'm sure Members agree that these are encouraging figures and show that the Seren network is really bedding down and adding value.

I was very pleased to be able to speak at a Seren network event in Llanelli on Friday. I think all of us would want to encourage as many Welsh students as possible to apply for these two world-leading education institutions, but also to others in the same category as well—to Trinity College Dublin, to the Sorbonne, to Heidelberg, to Tübingen, and further afield to Princeton, Stanford and to other American universities available—[Laughter.] 

Come on, say it. [Laughter.] Go on. [Laughter.]

I would have to declare an interest. But, look, the Diamond review made a commitment that we would actually open access to right across Europe and also have a pilot beyond Europe itself—for North American and other leading institutions. Can the Cabinet Secretary update us on where the Welsh Government are with that proposal?

Presiding Officer, the Member is just too modest to tell us about his time spent at Harvard. I myself got as far as sitting on the steps of the library of Harvard this summer whilst on holiday, but I had to settle for a year at the University of Missouri in Columbia, which is perhaps not quite as auspicious as the Member's time at Harvard.

But the Member makes a very good point: Seren isn't just about supporting students to go to Oxford and Cambridge; it's supporting students to go to Russell universities across the United Kingdom, including our Russell Group university here in Wales, Cardiff University, which is in the top 100 universities. We've got fantastic institutions to go to here in Wales. But you're right: officials are currently scoping the opportunities to allow us to have a fully portable Diamond package, which would mean that those students who aspire to go to universities, whether that's in the United States or to the Sorbonne or those other great seats of learning—no Welsh student who has the capacity and the desire to pursue their education should be stopped from doing that because of issues around financial pressure, and I will look forward to updating the Member shortly.