Access to Higher Education in Britain: The Impact of Tuition Fees and Financial Assistance

In 2000–01, around a third of young people in England and Wales entered full-time higher education — twice as many as a decade ago and nearly seven times as many as 40 years ago. So now young people from all socio-economic groups are more likely to go to university. Yet, those from disadvantaged backgrounds remain underrepresented, especially young white men. In 2001, nearly four in five students from professional backgrounds studied for a degree compared with just 15 per cent from unskilled backgrounds. This inequality in representation has persisted over the last 40 years despite the expansion of higher education and the large increase in participation rates.