A key purpose of academic curricula for 16 to 19 year olds is arguably to provide students with the core academic skills and subject knowledge needed to succeed in higher education. The opportunities for independence and freedom of thought and intellectual endeavour that universities offer are valued highly across Europe and beyond. It is important that they are open to the most academically able students, regardless of social and economic background. The effectiveness of pre-university education is a critical factor in ensuring that this is the case.

University lecturers internationally have expressed dissatisfaction with the preparedness of new undergraduate students for degree level study. In the UK, Jones (2011) reports that differences between student competencies and staff expectations are evident in multiple areas of university teaching, partly because school teachers concentrate more on knowledge than on skills. In Canada, Julien and Barber (2009) have found similar problems arise because school teachers teach directly to syllabuses in anticipation of high-stakes examinations, rather than focusing on the longer term development of scholarly skills. A complicating factor in the preparedness of undergraduates is the internationalisation of higher education. Within Europe, the Bologna process, increased ease of travel, and high levels of multilingualism have all contributed to universities admitting large numbers of international students with diverse educational backgrounds. Whilst some have followed national educational routes for 16 to 19 year olds such as English A levels, Scottish Highers, the German Abitur, and the FrenchBaccalauréat, others have followed international curricula such as the European and International Baccalaureate Diploma programmes. Despite broad equivalencies being established across qualifications, routes vary considerably in the pedagogical approaches entailed, the skills developed, and the breadth and depth of subject knowledge covered.

The British Government has indicated its desire both for the reform of A levels in England and Wales, and for the higher education community to play a greater role in curricular re-developments. The present study relates to both issues. Its primary aim was to address three main research questions:

1. In which core academic areas do university lecturers consider new undergraduates to be least prepared?
2. In which core academic areas do university lecturers consider new undergraduates to be most prepared?
3. How do lecturers think the responsibility for preparing students in these areas should be divided between schools and universities?

A secondary aim was to explore the use of a combined prioritisation task and focus group methodology as a systematic means of engaging university staff in the collection of relevant information. To construct the prioritisation task, a framework of ten core academic areas was developed. The framework drew upon skills groupings developed by the Lisbon Council (2007) of the European Union and a major international research venture exploring 21^st Century skills (ATC21S, 2012), as well as preliminary discussions with university staff in England. An important objective was to provide a model of engagement between curriculum researchers and higher education which could be adopted in other countries addressing similar concerns.

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