Londoners and Women Most Likely to Attend UK Universities

London (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

by Schools Improvement Net: http://schoolsimprovement.net/londoners-and-women-most-likely-to-attend-university/

The Independent is reporting that today’s typical student is likely to come from the west of London and to be a woman, according to research published by higher education funding experts …

You would not, however, be likely to find too many men from Newcastle or, indeed, from anywhere in the north-east if you searched the nation’s campuses.

That is the conclusion of a study by the Higher Education Funding Council for England into the pattern of university entrance for 18-year-olds, from the late 1990s onwards.

It shows that overall participation has increased by more than a quarter, from 30 per cent to 38 per cent, and that those most likely to attend university come from London - particularly from constituencies to the west  of the capital.

Londoners were 43 per cent more likely to attend than those from the north-east.

Areas from which young people were less likely to go into higher education included coastal towns, the industrial heartland of the Midlands and the North, and rural parts of the South-west, East Midlands and East of England.

In addition, by 2010/11, women were 22 per cent more likely to opt for university than men…
More at:  Londoners and women most likely to attend university

Are you surprised or concerned by these new figures? The article gives no indication on how the numbers are changing over time (apart from the overall participation figure) - do you suspect things are becoming more or less polarised in the areas mentioned? Please give us your reactions in the comments or on twitter …