The findings from Believing in Better were the focus of Barbara Ellen’s weekly column in The Observer.

“A study from the Sutton Trust has found that year 9 girls aged 13 to 14 are more likely to have a positive attitude towards university than their male classmates. Almost 65% of girls thought it was “very important”, compared with 58% of boys. While one in 10 girls attached no importance to attending university, 15% of boys didn’t see the point of higher education.

“The report also highlighted the ongoing divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students. While ethnic minority pupils and those from neighbourhoods with higher unemployment had university aspirations, disadvantaged year 9s were still less likely to think about higher education than their advantaged peers. Among better-off children, 39% had a positive attitude towards university compared with 27% of the disadvantaged, and poor white boys were the least interested group of all. The Sutton Trust is now calling for campaigns to raise the “aspirations and self-belief” of disadvantaged children, which is laudable. However, when it comes to higher education, a poverty of outlook is one thing and actual poverty quite another.”

Reader her column in full here.

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