University access gap widens between rich and poor teenagers

The gap between the proportion of rich and poor teenagers going to a top university is widening, new figures show.

The statistics, published by the Department for Education (DfE), also show that white students and those from a black ethnic background were less likely to go to a leading university than other ethnic groups.

Overall, around 5% of school leavers on free school meals (FSM) – a key measure of poverty – went on to study at a Russell Group university, considered among the best in the country, compared to 12% of their richer peers – a gap of seven percentage points. This is up from a gap of six percentage points in 2010/11.

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Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, said: “It is very worrying to see the access gap at our most selective universities widen at a time when overall higher education participation has improved for disadvantaged students.

“Today’s figures tell us that we need renewed and concerted efforts from government, schools and universities alike to improve participation rates for disadvantaged students at selective universities. We need to see much better co-ordination of access work – and better information for schools – if we are to see significant improvements in the numbers of less advantaged young people going to selective universities.”

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