The number of students who qualify for free school meals at 15 and progress to the tertiary level drops from 29.2% to 29%. You might think 0.2% is not that much, so why worry?
The percentage of less privileged students in England proceeding with their education at the tertiary level has fallen for the first time on record. The decline is also causing accusations that the nation is moving backwards regarding social mobility.
The Department for Education released statistics that disclosed that 29% of students who qualified for free meals at 15 had made it into tertiary institutions by 19 in 2022-23, compared with 29.2% in previous years. The rate declined for the first time since it was first measured in 2005-06.
Prior to the launch of the £9,000 undergraduate tuition fee, the yearly decline has startled advocates for social mobility. At the same time, the latest figures are still way higher than the 20% who proceeded to university in 2022-23.
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A professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, Lee Elliot Major, stated: “The stark reality is that in the post-pandemic era, we are moving backwards as a society. All the key indicators of social mobility are flashing red – widening education divides are driven by a perfect storm of rising child poverty, persistent school absenteeism and deepening financial hardship among our university students.”
Bridget Philipson, the education secretary, stated colleges needed to do more to assist students overcome inequalities.
She stated: “This data exposes entrenched inequalities that have been left to worsen year on year. For the gap in access to university between disadvantaged students and their peers to be the highest on record is appalling.” “We all have a role to play in putting that right but when it comes to access to higher education for disadvantaged students, universities can and must do more.”
The statistics from the Department of Education disclosed that among students not on free at 15, a silver less than 50% progressed to tertiary, making it the highest on records. The participation gap between the two groups was the widest ever at 20.8%.
The figures indicated that private school students have strengthened their grip on spots at selective universities that demand the highest A-level grades for admission despite the institutions taking more students overall.
The percentage from private schools increased sharply while selective universities, including the Russell Group of research institutions, increased their share of students accepting students with A-levels to 38.2% in a year. Due to that, 67.8% of private school students gained spots, compared to 34.2% of the state school students.
Elliot Major stated it was a “national scandal” that private school A-level students had double chances of entering elite universities than their colleagues in the state schools.
He stated: “We urgently need to overhaul access to higher education – reinstating maintenance grants at a time when many students are struggling to eat or stay warm let alone study, and expanding contextual admissions, which would lower grade requirements for students to reflect the extra barriers they have overcome.”
A spokesperson for the Russell Group noted that a record 6.1% of students who qualified for free meals had proceeded to high-tariff universities in 2022-23.
The spokesperson stated: “However, as [this] new data shows, there are still many challenges.” “The sector needs to continue to be ambitious in ensuring that talented students from all backgrounds have the opportunity to access high-quality higher education.”
