Fewer places at top universities for the most well-off pupils

TEENAGERS from the most affluent areas saw the biggest drop in places at Russell Group universities last year, new figures show.

University applicants faced the most competitive scramble for places at top universities in decades as a result of a squeeze on places as institutions tried to recover from the previous year, when they were oversubscribed because of inflated teacher-assessed grades.

Figures released by Ucas, the university admissions service, showed that overall, the number of 18-year-olds who won a place at so-called “higher tariff ” universities fell by almost 12,000 to 91,190.

Teenagers from all five groups of postcode areas used by universities to help assess whether candidates are disadvantaged saw a drop in places awarded.

Those from the most advantaged areas, defined as postcodes in the top fifth for rate of young people entering higher education, made up more than a third, or 4,350, of the reduction in places. Teenagers from areas defined as the least advantaged by the postcode analysis saw the number of places fall by 865.

However, 18-year-olds from the most affluent areas still dominated Russell Group admissions, winning 40,515 places, down 9.7 per cent on the previous year. Relative to the overall population of teenagers from affluent areas, 23.2 per cent got a place, down from 26.3 per cent. Those from the least affluent areas won 7,100 places, a 10.9 per cent fall on the previous year.

Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, predicted a “clash of the classes” in future years because of the “increasingly competitive race to get on to highly selective degree courses” that have long been dominated by middle-class students.

He said: “I do think we will see more debate about who gets these cherished university places.”

A spokesman for the Russell Group said: “There is always competition for places at top universities and 2022 was particularly competitive as things returned to normal after two years of disruption to exams. Despite this, the number of UK 18-year-olds admitted to our universities was up compared to 2019 and the pre-pandemic trend, underlining their determination to provide a high-quality education for homegrown students.”