Record gap between rich and poor students winning university places

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The gap between rich and poor students being granted university places has reached a record high, latest Ucas figures show, prompting fresh concerns over the “shameful” lack of social mobility within education. “The other factor is we had a very active policy working through organisations to getting universities back to promoting social mobility and I suspect this is now being pursued less aggressively.” He added: “Theresa May should surely take note of this as something that goes contrary to what she’s supposedly trying to achieve.” The Ucas analysis also showed a pre-Brexit spike in the number of EU students accepting places at UK institutions, while overseas students entering higher education in the UK has dropped for the first time since 2011. He said: “We need to see more access work – and better information for schools – if we are to see significant improvement in the numbers of less advantaged young people going to selective universities.” Free-school-meal students make up between 12 to 15 per cent of state school students aged 15, according to Ucas analysts, but contribute to almost 60 per cent of the most disadvantaged group of children applying to university. “One thing is for sure – more new grammar schools won’t make access any easier, nor increase social mobility.” Responding to the report, Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said: “It is welcome news that record numbers of students secured places at university this year and that people from disadvantaged backgrounds are now more than a third more likely to enter higher education than in 2010.