“It probably comes as little surprise to anyone with half an eye on the world of education that students from wealthy backgrounds nab more university places than their less well-off peers. But the size of the gulf between rich and poor – revealed today by Education Guardian – makes for enlightening reading. Young people from the most affluent homes are twice as likely as the average teenager to go to university, and more than four-and-a-half times as likely to get into a top-ranking university. At Bristol, a member of the elite Russell Group of older universities, more than half of students come from the most affluent quarter of the UK population. Just 3% come from the poorest quarter. Evidently, many able young people are missing out – and on a scale that should make us angry and ashamed …” (more)
[Claire Phipps, Guardian, 3 February]