English Unis Awash With Londoners

A new study by the Higher Education Funding Council for England shows Londoners are now 36% more likely to go to university than they would have been fifteen years ago, with more than ever from disadvantaged backgrounds taking the step up.

As reported by The Guardian, a slightly smaller increase of 26% is seen outside of London too, with Professor Michael Gunn, chair of university problem solver million+ calling the achievement “one of the great British success stories”.

Blue, another example of a great British success story

This success, however, comes at a cost and has seen the north-south divide actually increase, with those from London now 43% more likely to go into higher education than their north-eastern counterparts.

The report also singles out several regions of England including rural parts of the South West and Eastern parts of England, as well as people from the coast as being at a disadvantage.

NUS Vice-President Rachel Wenstone has branded the findings a “national embarrassment”, lamenting the fact that “where you’re from still remains such a key factor in whether or not you go on to university”.

In spite of university entry rising by a quarter, the study shows the gap between those of rich and poor backgrounds also only seems to widen. A final year SSEES History student stated “I’m not surprised. It’s quite clear that many parts of the country are under served by education, and at UCL at least, the majority of the people you meet are from well-to-do backgrounds”.