Bright pupils from poorer backgrounds ‘far less likely’ to go to university

Poorer pupils are ‘far less likely’ to go to university compared to richer peers with similar grades, according to new research.

The research, carried out by Education Datalab on behalf of the Social Mobility Commission, shows a wide progression gap between post-16 choices made by bright poor kids and their affluent peers.

It found that just 24 per cent of children eligible for free school meals attend higher education compared to 42 per cent of children from more privileged backgrounds. Additionally, poorer children are also twice as likely to drop out of education at 16.

The Commission says that this gap ‘cannot be explained by their results at school or where they live’, because there are significant differences between poorer children and wealthier children living in the same neighbourhood with the same GCSEs results.

The report concludes that ‘Britain has a deep social mobility problem which is getting worse for an entire generation of young people’.

Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said: “When low income young people from the same area with the same school results are progressing less than their better-off classmates, that is not about lack of ability. It is about lack of opportunity. The progression gap has many causes but it suggests something is going badly wrong in our education system.

“The lack of proper careers advice in schools and the sheer complexity of the post-16 education and training system make it particularly difficult for lower income young people to translate their attainment at school into qualifications that are well rewarded in the labour market.

“That has significant consequences for social mobility and leads to many young people becoming trapped in low skilled, low paid jobs. Government and schools should be working to create more of a level playing field of opportunity for young people to progress.”