Students from the most affluent areas were still more than twice as likely to enter higher education than those from the most deprived areas – and for the top universities, six times more likely, the research found. These gaps persisted despite £250m being spent each year on widening access to those from less well-off areas.
David Robinson, director of post-16 and skills at EPI and author of the report, said “While the higher education sector has made gains in reaching out to students from disadvantaged backgrounds over the last decade, there are still huge gaps in our knowledge of which interventions work best.”
Susannah Hume, director of TASO, said “If the higher education sector is serious about improving social mobility, we need to act now to fill the gaps identified in this report and refocus efforts on designing and implementing programmes that are proven to work.”
So what do you think? What can be done to improve access to universities for those less well off?
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.