“When looking at the raw data, schools with a high proportion of socio-economic disadvantaged students send fewer students to university: that is clear. They also send fewer students to the most competitive universities. But actually, when you control whole school attainment, that gap basically disappears,” says Paul Martin, a part-time doctoral researcher at Warwick University. 

No teacher will be surprised by Martin’s first conclusion: it’s accepted widely that fewer disadvantaged children go to university than their affluent peers. Indeed, data published by the Department for Education for the 2019-20 academic year found a 19.1 per cent gap in the HE progression rate between pupils on free school meals and those who weren’t - the largest gap since 2005-06.

Disadvantage impacts on a child’s likelihood of going to university: this is the narrative that the data tells. But according to Martin’s research, the picture is actually much more complex than that. 

He looked at three factors: socio-economic background; whether a pupil lives in a so-called low participation neighbourhood (LPN), a geographical area that has a statistically lower rate for participation in higher education than other areas; and a school’s Ofsted rating. He found that while all of these things contribute to the likelihood that a child will attend university, the extent to which they do differs.

Schools, then, need to be more specific when looking at how to support disadvantaged children into university. But which areas need the most focus? 

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The first thing to pay attention to is the importance of attainment. Martin examined data from 2,237 secondary schools and colleges across the country and found that there is only a “slight negative association” between the proportion of disadvantaged pupils in a school and the progression rate to degree-level study. On average, every 1 per cent increase in the proportion of disadvantaged students is associated with a 0.19 per cent decrease in degree-level study.

However, when attainment is controlled for and held fixed, this trend reverses, and the proportion of disadvantaged students in schools becomes positively associated with HE progression rates: for every 1 per cent increase in disadvantaged students, progression goes up by 0.16 per cent. 

So although there is a link between socio-economic background and HE progression, academic attainment trumps background.

Martin found that a much stronger indicator of a pupil’s likelihood of going to university is whether they live in a low participation neighbourhood or not. An increase of 1 per cent in the number of pupils who live in a LPN is associated with a 0.25 per cent reduction in HE progression rates. Even when school-level attainment is fixed, this remains the case. 

Another indicator emerged dominant in the research: the school’s Ofsted rating. But this factor is not straightforward, Martin says.

“Sadly, schools which are serving more disadvantaged communities appear to be less likely to be rated highly by Ofsted. That trend was especially striking with those low participation neighbourhoods, so students living in those low participation neighbourhoods were much more likely to be attending less effective schools as graded by Ofsted,” he explains.

Martin concludes that 16.8 per cent of all variation in a school’s progression rate to degree-level study can be explained by an Ofsted rating alone. A single decrease in an Ofsted rating (for example, a reduction from “outstanding” to “good”) is associated with a 9.2 per cent reduction in the HE progression rating. When attainment is controlled for, this decreases, but still remains high at 2.7 per cent. 

How to support students into higher education

So what are the main things teachers should take from this? Well, it seems that while socio-economic disadvantage does not directly affect a student’s chances of going to university, in terms of whether their individual family is disadvantaged or not, it does still have an indirect effect in terms of a school’s Ofsted rating, and whether or not a child lives in a LPN.

And while Martin stresses that he doesn’t have the expertise to suggest changes schools should make to improve Ofsted ratings or attainment, he does have useful suggestions on how schools have widened participation, without specifically focusing on attainment. 

So how, exactly, can schools enhance the support they offer disadvantaged students, in particular, when it comes to encouraging them to go on to degree-level study?

1. Open days and virtual university experiences

The first thing Martin suggests is all about opening students’ eyes to the possibility of university in the first place. Open days are brilliant for this, but often travel can be too expensive for disadvantaged students. Here, he says, is where schools can step in. 

“I’ve seen examples of schools in one local authority area coming together to arrange trips. In Norfolk for example, teachers from different schools collaborated to take a group of students to the University of Nottingham’s open day,” he says. “However, there are other ways of engaging students without visiting the individual universities.” 

The pandemic forced universities to rethink how they engage with potential students, and many have updated their websites to be a lot more interactive. Some facilitate online conversations between applicants and current undergraduate students to provide an insight into university life, others have included virtual maps on their website for students to have a tour of the campus from their own desk. 

He also encourages whole-class trips to UCAS fairs which happen all over the country: if a teacher can find one locally, there can be representatives from 75 universities there to answer student questions. 

2. Supporting the right qualification choice 

As well as raising awareness of university through open days and engagement activities, Martin says that schools need to ensure students are studying the right qualifications to get them there. Thinking about university needs to start before key stage 5, then. 

“It’s about tailoring the advice to the individual student and making sure that they’re making the right choice for them. You don’t want to force students down a particular route, but if a teacher knows a student is interested in going to a competitive university, they should stress that going down a more academic route and taking A levels as opposed to Btecs or T levels, will be more versatile in leaving a wide range of different choices open,” he says.

Students should also be directed to the Informed Choices website run by the Russell Group, he adds, which allows students to choose different combinations of A-level subjects they’re interested in, and highlights the degree courses which would be open to you. They could also go on the What Uni website: here students can click on particular degrees, and it will highlight the most common A levels the undergraduates have. 

3. Awareness of finance and bursaries  

For many disadvantaged students, the fear of financing university can be a major barrier. Martin says it’s crucial that students (and teachers) are “clued up” about student finance. They need to know tuition fees aren’t needed upfront, and that they won’t pay anything back unless they earn a certain salary after graduating, he points out. 

“It’s confusing for students because in a way they don’t know how much university is going to cost them. If they go on to become an investment banker and earn a fortune, they probably will pay it all back, and some interest besides. But some students may not end up getting to that threshold, and after 30 years it’s written off anyway,” he explains.

He recommends pointing students towards Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website and also helping them to look at bursaries they may be entitled to. Most universities, he says, offer some sort of bursary, and teachers should encourage students to apply for them. As well as bursaries directly from HE, there are also other organisations, for example, The Helena Kennedy Foundation, which grant money to disadvantaged students for HE. 

There are opportunities around foundation years and access courses too, adds Martin. 

“The University of Cambridge, for example, recently launched a foundation year, where students from a poorer background can get into Cambridge with much lower grades than they otherwise would be asked for,” he explains.

“A lot of these schemes are funded by generous donors who finance the whole cost of the year so there are no tuition fees for students to pay during this year. There’s money available for living expenses as well so there are some really interesting schemes like that which we’re seeing now too.” 

4. Understand the admissions process

Even once students have experienced a taste of university life, and have applied for bursaries, it’s absolutely crucial that they understand the admissions process and the contextual admissions policies which may apply to them.

Today, the majority of universities have a more “holistic” approach to admissions, says Martin. They do look at grades, but they also look at the bigger picture for individual applicants. 

“Often if students live in one of the low participation neighbourhoods, then their application to the university may be flagged as contextual and then all sorts of different things could happen as a result of that,” he says. “They may get a lower A level grade offer than they otherwise would. Students and teachers need to realise this can happen.” 

There is a challenge with this, he warns, as each university has a slightly different policy. So when looking at universities to apply for, students need to be checking the website for these policies. The Advancing Access website, he says, has a list of all of the policies for Russell Group Universities, but not the others. 

5. Take part in external widening participation programmes

Teachers should also encourage students to look beyond the school gates for opportunities that will boost their applications. Many universities and other organisations offer widening participation programmes for free which give students a package of support through Years 12 and 13. 

For example, Realising Opportunities, which is run by Newcastle University, has more than 10,000 students take part each year, and offers student skills development workshops, access to events, and tailored support with personal statements and applications.