Comprehensive school pupils are more likely to gain a better university degree than those who were educated privately or at grammar schools, research has suggested.

A study commissioned by the Sutton Trust also suggests comprehensive pupils are likely to do as well as independent or grammar students who have one or two A-level grades higher.

The research, conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research tracked thousands of A-level students to examine whether the US-based SAT college exam could be used in UK university admissions.

But it found the type of school a child attends has a big impact on the outcome of their degree.

The probability of comprehensive students obtaining a 2.1 degree or above is 78 per cent, the study concludes, whereas the probability for students from grammar schools with similar A-level results is 70 per cent.

For private school pupils the probability is 63 per cent.

In addition, the probability of comprehensive pupils gaining a first class degree is 10 per cent, dropping to seven per cent for grammar students with similar results, and five per cent for those from private schools.

The study says: “To look at this in another way, independent or grammar school students who achieve the same level of degree as students from a comprehensive school, with the same GCSE attainment and other background characteristics, are likely to have an average A-level grade that is approximately 0.5 to 0.7 of a grade higher.

“Therefore a comprehensive student with grades BBB is likely to perform as well at university as an independent or grammar school student with grades ABB or AAB.”