25.04.13
Almost 50% of young people enter higher education
The number of students going into higher education is at the highest rate ever, statistics from BIS show. In 2011-12, 49.3% of young people in England entered higher education.
This is just below the 50% mark governments have long pledged to reach.
However, the statistics may have been given an artificial boost by a significant reduction in the number of students choosing to defer their studies to take gap years. Ucas statistics showed that fewer than 10,000 students chose to defer a place at university in 2011-12, compared with more than 23,000 the previous academic year.
This occurred as thousands aimed to beat the tuition fee rise to a maximum of £9,000 from 2012-13.
In total, 342,000 students entered higher education for the first time in 2011-12, an increase of 17,000 compared with 2010-11, while the higher education initial participation rate (HEIPR) went up to 49% after three previous years when it had remained stuck at around 46%.
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]