Proportion of students from state schools drops

The percentage of students from a state school background studying at Scottish higher education institutions has fallen slightly, with Edinburgh and St Andrews universities having the lowest proportion.

Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) indicates those from a UK state school or college made up 86.5 per cent of the student population studying for their first degree at Scottish universities in 2016-17, down slightly from 87 per cent the previous year.

Despite the falling proportion of state-educated students the number of under- graduates from that background went up from 21,825 in 2015-16 to 22,010 in 2016-17.

Edinburgh University saw the number of state school students fall from 2,550 to 2,430 over the period. The proportion of students from that background fell from 69.8 per cent to 66.5 per cent.

St Andrews had the lowest proportion of college- or stateeducated students at 64.3 per cent. However, the figure had increased from 56.7 per cent. Over the period the number of state- or college-educated students increased from 555 to 730.

A Edinburgh University spokesman said more than 80 per cent of Scottish students were from state schools.