Widening participation statistics

03 August 2017

Commenting on the publication of 2017 statistics on widening participation in Higher Education, Russell Group head of policy Sarah Stevens said:

“The increase in the proportion of students from low participation neighbourhoods and state schools progressing to highly selective universities is welcome, but it is clear there is more work to be done. This is why Russell Group universities will spend more than £250m this year on activities designed to encourage successful applications from students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds.

“Our members are working with more than 2000 schools across the UK to encourage more pupils to think about higher education. The Advancing Access initiative, supported by all 24 Russell Group universities, gives teachers the support they need to help pupils from under-represented groups navigate the application process.

“The success that has been seen in places like London shows that there are policy interventions that can make a big difference. Our members are committed to working with Government to build on the progress that has been made in widening access to university in recent years.”