Official Statistics

Widening participation in higher education: 2021

Annual statistics on young people's participation in higher education, including their background characteristics.

Applies to England

Documents

Widening participation in higher education: 2021

Details

Statistics providing information on measures of widening participation in higher education.

These include estimates of progression to higher education (HE) by age 19 for state-funded pupils by personal characteristics, including:

  • eligibility for free school meals (FSM)
  • gender
  • ethnicity
  • special educational need (SEN) status
  • first language
  • looked after children
  • children in need

The publication includes geographic breakdowns to enable comparisons of HE progression rates between local authorities and regions by personal characteristics.

Figures are also provided showing estimated percentages of A level and equivalent students, by school or college type, who progressed to HE by age 19 with breakdowns for high tariff higher education providers.

Further breakdowns include progression by POLAR disadvantage and Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework rating.

The latest data relates to HE entry in 2019 to 2020, so the figures presented will be unaffected by the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Updates to this page

Published 14 October 2021

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