Early university entry offers criticised

Universities are being urged to stop offering students early entry places before sitting their final high school exams, due to concerns it encourages some pupils to slack off.

The Secondary Principals Council described the pre-exam offers as an "appalling practice" - arguing it not only affects individual results, but the pool of marks within the school.

Thousands of New South Wales students have already been offered places at universities including Macquarie, Notre Dame and Wollongong before they began their exams last week.