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Higher level learners in England
A time series of English-domiciled, level 4+ entrants, total enrolments and qualifiers in England between 2015/16 and 2023/24.
Academic year 2023/24
Higher Level Learners in England
Participation in higher level learning at Further Education Providers (FEPs) and Higher Education Providers (HEPs) for English-domiciled learners in England.
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- Department for Education
- Published
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Featured tables
Featured tables are pre-prepared tables created from a statistical release's data sets. They provide statistics that are regularly requested by some users (such as local councils, regional government or government policy teams) and can be adapted to switch between different categories (such as different geographies, time periods or characteristics where available).
Data sets: download or create tables
Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.
17 data sets available for download
Age
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by age group, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 4,652
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Age
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Disability
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by self-reported disability status, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 1,659
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Disability status
- Level of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
ELQ status
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by equivalent or lower qualification (ELQ) status, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24. OfS recognised HE only.
- Number of rows
- 864
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Equivalent or lower qualification already held
- Level of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
IMD
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile of domicile, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 3,817
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- IMD quintile
- Level of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Level
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by level of study, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 555
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Type of higher learning
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Level on entry
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by level on entry, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24. OfS recognised HE only.
- Number of rows
- 2,592
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Qualification level held on entry
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Mode
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by mode of study, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 1,617
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Mode of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Funding
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by primary funding source of tuition fees, academic years 2015/16 to 2022/23. OfS recognised HE only.
- Number of rows
- 1,152
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad primary funding source
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2022/23
Provider category
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by provider type, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 3,013
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Provider category
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Qualification aim
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by qualification aim, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 3,671
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Qualification aim
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Region of permanent address
National, Regional
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by region of permanent address, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 5,978
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Type of higher learning
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Sex
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by sex, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 2,009
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Sex
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Subject
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by subject area of study (Common Aggregation Hierarchy level 1 and 2), academic years 2019/20 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 21,551
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Subject level 1
- Time period
- 2019/20 to 2023/24
Technical route
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by technical route, academic years 2019/20 to 2023/24. Excludes apprenticeships and institutional credit.
- Number of rows
- 1,684
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Technical route
- Time period
- 2019/20 to 2023/24
Type of learning
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by type of higher level learning, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 645
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Detailed type of higher learning
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Ethnicity
National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by ethnicity, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 3,796
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Ethnicity
- Level of study
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Local authority of permanent address
Local authority district, National
English-domiciled higher-level learners in England by local authority of permanent address, academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24.
- Number of rows
- 153,075
- Indicators
- Number of entrants
- Number of qualifiers
- Percentage of all enrolments by characteristic
- Filters
- Broad type of higher learning
- Level of study
- Type of higher learning
- Time period
- 2015/16 to 2023/24
Supporting files
Supporting files provide an area for teams to supply non-standard files for download by users where required.
4 supporting data files
Table 4 - Mapping sector subject area tier 2 principle subject to technical route
How the sector subject area tier 2 principle subjects have been mapped to technical routes
Table 3 - Mapping CAH Level 3 to technical routes
How the CAH Level 3 subjects have been mapped to technical routes.
Table 1 - Mapping of qualification category to levels 4 to 8
How the HESA qualification categories have been mapped to levels 4 to 8.
Table 2 - Mapping sector subject area tier 2 to CAH level 2
How the sector subject area tier 2 codes have been mapped to CAH level 2 subjects.
Data guidance
Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.
Description
This document describes the data included in the Higher Level Learners in England, 2023/24 statistical release’s underlying data files.
Coverage
This release refers only to learners in England studying at levels 4 to 8 (opens in new tab).
Analysis is presented for English domiciled learners to reflect funding eligibility more closely and allow for consistent comparisons across both HESA and ILR sources.
Most of the data included in this release refers to academic year 2023/24. Time series data for the previous nine academic years from 2015/16 to 2023/24 have also been included at summary level.
Rounding and suppression
The Code of Practice for Official Statistics (opens in new tab) requires DfE to take reasonable steps to ensure that its published or disseminated statistics protect confidentiality.
Throughout the publication, all numbers are rounded to the nearest 5 to preserve confidentiality. Percentages are calculated on pre-rounded data but are not published if they are fractions of a small group of people (fewer than 22.5).
Due to rounding, it is possible that the sum of the category percentages may not always total to 100%.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Higher Level Learners in England statistics and data:
HE Participation and Provider Statistics Team
Email: he.statistics@education.gov.ukContact name: Louis Erritt
Press office
If you have a media enquiry:
Telephone: 020 7783 8300
Public enquiries
If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:
Phone: 0370 000 2288
Opening times
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm (closed on bank holidays)