Students from an elite Sydney school have bypassed the Higher School Certificate and gained entrance to the University of Sydney by completing a 17 week diploma, which is not available at any other school.

Reports say students from Scots College were able to participate in a pilot program devised by the university aimed at those scoring predictive tertiary admissions ranks of between 55 and 70 per cent.

This has 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 otherwise struggled to qualify.

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The diploma 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, Fairfax reports.

NSW education minister Adrian Piccoli has expressed concern about the revelations, saying access to university “should be fair and equitable”.

“Any scheme that gives some students an unfair advantage is unacceptable and I will be discussing this with the federal government, which is responsible for universities,” Mr Piccoli said on Monday.

NSW opposition leader Luke Foley earlier said the program undermined the standing of the Higher School Certificate.

“Revelations that a small number of students from a GPS (private) school can avoid the HSC and sit a fast-tracked diploma to gain access to university will alarm many students and parents,” Mr Foley told reporters in Sydney.

Scots is continuing the pilot with another 11 boys this year, despite moves by university academics to close the pathway.

Scots students who passed the Diploma of Tertiary Preparation with an average of 65 per cent or more were guaranteed places at the university but in a restricted range of bachelor courses – liberal arts and science, health sciences, animal and veterinary bioscience, visual arts, music and oral health – or in the diploma of law.

The diploma is typically aimed at mature-age students who have missed out on HSC, and who pay $12,000 for the course.

The university has not disclosed whether $12,000 is the amount charged for each boy in the Scots pilot.

Scots principal Ian Lambert defended the program and said parents’ normal school fees covered the cost.

“The literature on boys learning is clear – the HSC is a great matriculation pathway for the top 20 per cent of students, but has mixed opportunities, particularly for boys, in the middle rank of learners,” Dr Lambert told Fairfax.

Scots was chosen for the pilot but it is understood that other schools, including disadvantaged schools, had been approached, the university said.

On March 25, in response to the discontent among staff, the university’s academic board resolved that any diploma applicants for its degree courses younger than 21 would also need to have the HSC or equivalent qualification.

—with AAP.