Percentage of poorer students accepted to Oxbridge falls, figures show

The percentage of disadvantaged students being accepted at Oxford and Cambridge has fallen over the past decade, new figures show.

Oxbridge takes fewer students from poor socio-economic backgrounds than every other university in the country, although both institutions have seen a rise in the proportion of entrants from state schools.

In 2004/05, disadvantaged pupils made up 12.3% of entrants at Oxford. By 2014/15 this had fallen to 10%.

Cambridge showed a similar decline, down from 12.4% to 10.2% over the same period.

Durham, Exeter, Glasgow, Imperial College London and Belfast’s Queen’s University also recorded a fall over the past decade despite pressure to widen access to higher education.

“It is worrying that the access gap between those from poorer backgrounds and their more advantaged peers has actually widened at some universities,” said Lee Elliott Major, chief executive of social mobility charity Sutton Trust.

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