Students from the elite Scots College have gained entry to the University of Sydney without sitting the Higher School Certificate, completing instead a 17-week diploma that is available at no other school.

The pilot program, devised by the university's commercially driven arm Sydney Learning, sparked outrage among some university staff, amid fears it allowed parents to buy their sons entry to an elite tertiary institution even though the boys might have struggled to gain the required marks under the HSC.

The Scots College. Credit:Simone De Peak

Aimed at students with predictive tertiary admissions ranks of between 55 and 70 per cent, it was taken up by eight Scots boys in 2014. Six were offered places in selected degree courses at the university this year. Four enrolled and one deferred.

Scots is continuing the pilot with another 11 boys this year, despite moves by university academics to close the pathway to a degree to Scots boys, or any other school-age students who might have followed their lead.