Higher Education: Disadvantaged

(asked on 18th October 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of white working class boys progressed from (a) selective and (b) non-selective schools to higher education institutions in the last three years.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 2nd November 2016

Information on pupils’ socio-economic status or whether they would be identified as working class is not collected by Department for Education. Information is instead provided for white male students who had been eligible for free school meals in year 11. This is a commonly used indicator of economic deprivation.

Students that have completed key stage 5 study (A level and other level 3 qualifications) at the 163 fully selective schools are compared with those completing key stage 5 at all other state-funded mainstream schools . Students in sixth form and other further education colleges are not included in this analysis. It should be noted that a small number of ‘comprehensive’ schools use an element of selection in their admissions at the secondary phase, and that many schools may set eligibility criteria for admissions post-16 or for entry to particular courses at key stage 5.

The number and percentage of such students from each school type progressing to study at a UK Higher Education Institution for at least two terms the following year is given.

The table below shows figures for 2012/13 to 2014/15, the last three years for which information is available, for a) selective schools and b) non-selective schools. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten, in line with how published information was shown in these years. Percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.

Comparable information on pupil destinations for other groups is published annually on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

White male students eligible for free school meals

Number of students completing KS5 (rounded to nearest 10)

Number at UK Higher Education Institution (rounded to nearest 10)

% at UK Higher Education Institution (calculated on unrounded figures)

Selective

Non-Selective

Selective

Non-Selective

Selective

Non-Selective

2014/15 (2013/14 KS5 cohort)

280

6,070

200

3,260

70%

54%

2013/14 (2012/13 KS5 cohort)

280

5,600

200

2,990

73%

53%

2012/13 (2011/12 KS5 cohort)

270

5,110

180

2,680

66%

52%

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