Academic year 2021/22

Widening participation in higher education

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• Published: 13 July 2023
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Annual statistics on young peoples' participation in higher education by student characteristics, including eligibility for free school meals, gender, ethnicity, special educational need status, first language and region.

The publication focuses on progression rates to higher education by age 19 for state-funded pupils by personal characteristics at age 15 and for A level students at age 17, by school or college type with breakdowns for high tariff higher education providers.

The publication also includes figures at local authority and regional level by gender, ethnic group, special educational need status and free school meal status.

Figures are also provided on progression to higher education by POLAR disadvantage and Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework rating.

The underlying data, including student numbers, is available to download from the Explore data and files section.

Note the latest data covers A level students who sat their exams in 2019/20. 

These students would have been affected by disruption to assessments caused by COVID-19. Comparisons with earlier years should therefore be treated with caution.

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Headline facts and figures - 2021/22

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About this release

About this release

This statistics publication includes the latest 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 and for 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.

The pupil characteristic measure cover pupils who attended English state-funded schools and special schools at age 15 who have progressed to HE in UK Higher Education Providers (including Alternative Providers) and English Further Education Colleges. 

The school type measure covers students who attended English schools and colleges at Key Stage 5 at age 17 who have progressed to HE in UK Higher Education Providers (including Alternative Providers) and English Further Education Colleges. 

High Tariff Providers  

Providers are ranked based on the mean UCAS tariff score of their intake and then allocated to low, medium and high tariff groupings with each forming roughly a third of students in the cohort.

More information about HE provider tariff groupings can be found in the methodology document. 

The publication previously used provider tariff groupings produced by HESA. However, HESA no longer produce these groupings. The Department is considering different options for the groupings going forward but in the short term have decided to continue to use the 2019/20 groupings for 2020/21 and 2021/22. 

The main publication text focuses on high tariff providers, however, tariff groupings and mean tariff scores for each institution can be downloaded from the Explore data and files section above.

Prior Attainment

Variations in progression to HE by student characteristics can largely be explained by prior attainment [Socio-economic, ethnic and gender differences in HE participation, Nov 2015]. Prior attainment is not accounted for by the measures presented here.

The publication relies on matched data and all figures should be considered as estimates.

Other Publications

There are other sources of information on Widening Participation in Higher Education. These are summarised in the methodology note. 

DfE also produce destination measures showing the percentage of students progressing to further learning at Higher Education Institutions:  

Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 Destinations

The destination measures differ from those presented here as they cover those entered for A levels or equivalent qualifications at ages 16 to 18 as opposed to age 17 for this publication. Destinations figures cover only those who stayed in the education destination for at least the first two terms, whereas this publication covers all entrants except those who dropped out in the first two weeks.

Impact from COVID-19

Note the latest data covers A level students who were affected by disruption to assessments caused by COVID-19. 

A level students received Centre Assessed Grades in 2019/20, with students more likely to achieve higher grades than in previous years. 

This led to more students being accepted to HE and in particular to high tariff HE which may explain the increased progression rates compared with last year.  

Comparisons with earlier years should therefore be treated with caution. 

Free School Meals Eligibility

Free School Meals Eligible Cohort  Note that the proportion of pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) changes over time, which can affect the comparability of the figures. For those turning 19 in 2021/22, 12.7% were eligible for FSM at age 15, although not all claimed and received FSM. This is down from a peak of 14.9% for the 2016/17 cohort. See the methodology note for more information.

Progression to Higher Education

14.2% of state-funded and special school pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15 entered Higher Education by age 19 by 2005/06. The rate has risen fairly steadily over time and is now more than double the 2005/06 figure at 29.2% for the 2021/22 cohort. 

The progression rate for non-FSM eligible pupils has risen from 33.5% for the 2005/06 cohort to 49.4% for the 2021/22 cohort. 

While the progression rate gap between FSM eligible pupils and non-FSM eligible pupils has remained relatively stable over time, the current gap for the 2021/22 cohort is the largest in the series at 20.2 percentage points.

Overall Progression Rates  Figures covering HE progression for all state-funded students can be downloaded from the Free School Meals file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page

Progression to High Tariff Higher Education

2.0% of state-funded and special school pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15 entered high tariff HE by age 19 by 2009/10. The rate has increased in the latest year and now stands at 5.3%, the highest figure in the time series. 

The progression rate for pupils non-FSM eligible pupils has risen from 9.4% for the 2009/10 cohort to 14.6% for the 2021/22 cohort, the highest in the time series. 

The progression rate gap between FSM eligible pupils and non-FSM eligible pupils was 9.3 percentage points for the 2021/22 cohort, the largest gap in the series.

Progression to Higher Education by Region and FSM Status

Progression to Higher Education

Progression to Higher Education varied considerably by region, in particular for pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM).

For FSM eligible pupils at age 15:

• Nationally, 29.2% had progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22.
• The highest regional rate was in Inner London, where over half (51.5%) progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22.
• The South West had the lowest regional rate with 18.7% progressing to HE by age 19 by 2021/22.
• The gap in progression rates between London and the South West for Free School Meal pupils increased in the latest year from 28.6 to 30.1 percentage points.

For non-FSM eligible pupils at age 15:

• Nationally, 49.4% had progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22.
• London again had the highest regional rate – well over 50% in both Inner London (64.1%) and Outer London (62.8%) progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22.
• The South West had the lowest regional rate with 43.3% progressing to HE by age 19 by 2021/22.

Overall

• These patterns were repeated when looking at the overall HE progression rate with rates highest in London (60.8%) and lowest in the South West (40.9%). 
• London was the only region with progression rates above the national average of 46.8%.

Progression to High Tariff Higher Education

Progression to high tariff HE providers also varies by region. 

• In London, 11.9% of pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15 progressed to high tariff HE by age 19 by 2021/22 – a rate around four times higher than for the East Midlands (3.0%). 
• London also had the highest progression rates for non-FSM eligible pupils at age 15 – at 21.2%. 
• The West Midlands had the lowest progression rate for non-FSM eligible pupils (11.8%).

Overall

• This pattern was repeated when looking at the overall high tariff HE progression rate with rates highest in London (19.6%) and lowest in the West Midlands (10.6%). 
• London and the South East were the only regions with progression rates above the national average of 13.4%.

Progression to Higher Education by Local Authority and FSM Status

As seen in the regional figures, London had the highest progression rates and this is particularly apparent for pupils who were eligible for FSM at age 15. In 15 Local Authorities in London, HE Progression rates by age 19 were above 50% for FSM eligible pupils, but were below 20% in over a quarter of Local Authorities (all outside London).

The gap in progression rates between FSM eligible pupils and non-FSM eligible pupils also tended to be much narrower in Local Authorities in London than in other areas. The progression rate gap tended to be widest in Local Authorities with a small proportion of FSM eligible pupils.

The pattern was similar when looking at progression to high tariff providers. In 20 Local Authorities in London, the progression rate to high tariff HE for FSM eligible pupils was above 10%, compared to 5.3% nationally. Fewer than 1% of FSM eligible pupils progressed to high tariff HE in six Local Authorities. Progression rates to high tariff HE tended to be lowest in coastal regions in the South in particular and the more disadvantaged areas in the North and Midlands.

Historical Data  Figures for earlier years can be downloaded from the Free School Meals - Gap file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.

Other measures of disadvantage  This publication also presents two further measures of disadvantage:

Disadvantage  - this is a wider measure of disadvantage relating to those eligible for Free School Meals at age 15 or at any point in the previous six years

POLAR - this is an area-based measure of disadvantage based on the proportion of young people who participate in HE

More details are in the following sections

Disadvantage

Disadvantage  Pupils are defined as disadvantaged if they were eligible for free school meals at age 15 or at any point in the previous six years. Comparable figures are only available from 2013/14 onwards.

Progression to Higher Education

Almost a third (32.5%) of disadvantaged pupils progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22, the highest in the time series. However, this compares to over half (51.7%) of all other pupils. 

The progression rate gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils has remained stable, increasing slightly from 19.1 percentage points in 2013/14 to 19.3 percentage points in 2021/22.

Progression to High Tariff Higher Education

6.1% of disadvantaged pupils progressed to high tariff HE in by age 19 by 2021/22, the highest in the time series. However, this rate is over 2.5 times lower than the rate for all other pupils (16.0%). 

The high tariff progression rate gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils has increased from 8.1 percentage points in 2013/14 to 9.8 percentage points in 2021/22.

POLAR

POLAR  Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) is produced by the Office for Students (OfS) and classifies small areas across the UK into five groups according to their level of young participation in HE. Each of these groups represents areas where around 20% of young people live and are ranked from quintile 1 (Q1) (areas with the lowest young participation rates, considered as the most disadvantaged) to quintile 5 (Q5) (areas with the highest young participation rates, considered most advantaged). This has been updated over the years to POLAR2, POLAR3 and POLAR4. This publication presents information using POLAR4.

Progression to Higher Education 

Pupils in the most advantaged quintile were almost twice as likely to progress to HE by age 19 by 2021/22 as those from the most disadvantaged quintile, at 61.8% compared to 31.7%. There has been some narrowing of the gap over time with the progression rate for the most advantaged increasing by 10.5 percentage points since 2009/10 compared to 13.7 percentage points for the most disadvantaged.

Progression to High Tariff HE

The gap widens when looking at progression to high tariff HE. The most advantaged pupils were around four times more likely to progress to high tariff HE than the most disadvantaged pupils in 2021/22. However, this is down from over six times more likely in 2009/10.

Difference from UCAS figures  UCAS publish figures on entry to Higher Education by POLAR4 quintile. The figures differ from those in this publication as they are measuring slightly different things. The figures in this publication relate to state-funded and special school pupils only, whereas the UCAS figures include students who attended other types of school. The UCAS figures relate to acceptances, whereas the figures in this publication relate to those identified as participating in HE, excluding entrants who dropped out in the first two weeks. UCAS figures generally relate to entry to HE at age 18 rather than by age 19.

Gender

Progression to Higher Education

More than half (53.6%) of female pupils entered HE by age 19 by 2021/22 compared to 40.2% of males. The gap in progression rates between males and females rose from 12.2 to 13.4 percentage points between 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Progression to High Tariff HE

15.3% of female pupils entered high tariff HE by age 19 by 2021/22 compared to 11.7% of males. The gap in progression rates between females and males increased from 2.6 to 3.6 percentage points in the latest year.

Regional and local authority data  Figures at regional and local authority data can be downloaded from the Gender file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.

Ethnic Group

This section focuses on five broad ethnic groups: White, Mixed, Asian, Black and Chinese. Note that the Asian ethnic group does not include Chinese pupils. Figures showing detailed ethnic group as well as regional and local authority data can be downloaded from the Ethnicity file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.

Progression to Higher Education

Progression to HE varied significantly by ethnic group: 

• Chinese pupils were the most likely to progress to HE by age 19 by 2021/22 at 83.8% 
• White pupils were the least likely to progress to HE by age 19 by 2021/22 at 41.8%. 
• Black pupils have seen the greatest increase in the proportion progressing to HE – from 44.1% in 2009/10 to 63.5% in 2021/22.

Progression to High Tariff HE

Chinese pupils were also by far the most likely to progress to high tariff HE by age 19 by 2021/22 at 46.0%, whilst White pupils were the least likely to with only 12.3% doing so.

Free School Meals, Gender and Ethnic Group

This section focuses on detailed ethnic group by free school meal status and gender. Figures by region can be downloaded from the Free School Meals, Gender and Ethnic Group - Region file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.

Progression to Higher Education

Progression rates by age 19 were highest for Chinese pupils regardless of gender or Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility at age 15. Chinese females not eligible for FSM had the highest progression rate at 87.0% in 2021/22. Indian, Black African and Bangladeshi pupils also had consistently high progression rates regardless of FSM eligibility and gender. The lowest progression rates were for Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy Roma pupils.

Progression rates by age 19 for White British pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15 were much lower than most other groups with rates of 23.1% for females and 13.4% for males in 2021/22. The progression rate for White British FSM eligible males decreased slightly in the latest year. The rate for females has increased every year since 2011/12 and is at the highest level in the time series.

Progression to High Tariff HE

Progression rates to high tariff HE providers by age 19 were highest for Chinese pupils regardless of gender or eligibility for Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15. This was particularly apparent for pupils who were FSM eligible.

Black Caribbean pupils were among the least likely to progress to high tariff HE by age 19. The progression rate of 6.7% is half the overall national figure (13.4%). The progression rate for females has increased to 8.3% in the latest year and the rate for males has increased from 3.5% to 4.9%.

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

SEN Support  From 2015, the School Action and School Action Plus categories have combined to form one category of SEN support. Extra or different help is given from that provided as part of the school’s usual curriculum. The class teacher and special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) may receive advice or support from outside specialists. The pupil does not have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or Statement of SEN.

EHC plan or Statement of SEN A pupil has an EHC plan or Statement of SEN when a formal assessment has been made with a document in place setting out the child’s needs and the extra help they should receive.  Children with an EHC plan have more complex needs than those receiving SEN support. Further details on these definitions are available here.  

Progression to Higher Education

The progression rates for pupils with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) lag well behind those for other pupils.  The proportion of pupils who had progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22 was: 

• Just 8.9% for pupils with an EHC plan or Statement of SEN, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous cohort
• 24.2% for pupils receiving SEN Support, up 1.7 percentage points from the previous cohort
• 51.2% for pupils with no SEND, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous cohort

Progression rates increased for all groups for the latest cohort but the increase was largest for those with no SEND.

The progression rate for pupils receiving SEN support is at the highest level recorded in the time series.

Progression to High Tariff HE

The proportion of pupils who had progressed to high tariff HE by age 19 by 2021/22 was:  

• 1.5% for pupils with an EHC plan or Statement of SEN 
• 4.4% for pupils receiving SEN support  
• 15.1% for pupils with no SEND
  
  Progression rates have increased for all groups in the latest year and are at the highest level in the time series.

Regional and local authority data  Figures at regional and local authority data can be downloaded from the Special Educational Needs file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.

First Language

English as an additional language  A pupil is recorded to have English as an additional language if they are exposed to a language at home that is known or believed to be other than English.

Progression to Higher Education

A majority of pupils with a first language other than English progressed to HE by age 19. 

• 61.1% of pupils with a first language other than English progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22 compared to 43.9% of pupils with English as a first language. 
• The progression rates have increased by 10.3 percentage points and 11.8 percentage points respectively since 2009/10.

Progression to High Tariff HE

Pupils with a first language other than English were also more likely to progress to high tariff HE by age 19, with 16.0% doing so by 2021/22 compared to 13.0% of pupils with English as a first language. 

Children in Need

Children in Need   A child in need is defined under the Children Act 1989 as a child who is unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health or development will be significantly impaired without the provision of services, or the child is disabled. 

This publication presents figures for Children in Need at 31st March for state-funded and special school pupils who were 15 at the start of the academic year. Comparable data is only available from 2015/16 onwards.

Note that Looked After Children are a subset of Children in Need.

Progression to Higher Education

14% of Children in Need at age 15 progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22 compared to 48% of all other pupils. 

Compared to 2020/21, the progression rates have increased by:

• 1 percentage point for Children in Need
• 3 percentage points for all other pupils

Progression to High Tariff HE

The progression rate to high tariff HE for Children in Need was 2% in 2021/22. The rate is the same as last year and is seven times lower than the 14% of all other pupils who progressed to high tariff HE. 

Looked After Children

A child is looked after by a local authority under the Children Act 1989 if they fall into one of the following: is provided with accommodation, for a continuous period of more than 24 hours [Children Act 1989, Section 20 & 21]; is subject to a care order [Children Act 1989, Part IV]; or is subject to a placement order. 

This publication presents figures for Children looked after continuously for 12 months or more at 31st March for state-funded and special school pupils who were 15 at the start of the academic year.

Note that Looked After Children are a subset of Children in Need.

Progression to Higher Education

• 14% of pupils who were looked after continuously for 12 months or more at 31st March 2018 progressed to HE by age 19 by 2021/22, compared to 47% of all other pupils

Compared to 2020/21, the progression rates have increased by:

• 1 percentage point for Looked After Children 
• 2 percentage points for all other pupils.

Progression to High Tariff HE

• The progression rate to high tariff HE by age 19 for children looked after continuously for at least 12 months remained at 2% 
• Meanwhile, 14% of other pupils progressed to high tariff HE by age 19 by 2021/22, up from 11% for the previous cohort. 

The Department also publishes figures on entry to HE in the Children looked after in England including adoption publication. The progression rates are lower than presented here as those statistics relate to care leavers known to local authorities. This publication uses a different cohort – children looked after continuously for 12 months or more at 31st March for pupils in state-funded and special schools who were 15 at the start of the academic year – and uses matched census data to identify HE participation by age 19 rather than for a single age.

A level students - School Type

Changes to Key Stage 5 cohort 

There has been continued reform to KS5 qualifications and methodological changes in the way the KS5 cohort is counted. It is not possible to directly compare figures for HE progression rates from 2017/18 with earlier years and further changes in recent year have added further volatility to the time series.

Due to these changes, this publication focuses on HE progression for A level students in the main text of the publication, where the cohort is more stable over time. Progression figures for the wider KS5 cohort are still available for download to enable comparison of progression rates by school type within years, however it is not possible to create consistent comparisons over time. 

Data can be downloaded from the School Type file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.

Changes to A level cohort  

In the latest three years the cohort includes students who took a single AS level (as well as those combining one AS level with vocational qualifications). We would expect these students to have lower progression rates than in the past when the threshold for inclusion in school performance measures was at least one A level. The change has most impact on the state-funded students, who are more likely to study AS levels. 

Figures from 2017/18 onwards are therefore NOT directly comparable with earlier years.

A Level Students

Progression to Higher Education

88.7% of pupils who took A levels in Independent schools progressed to HE, 6.4 percentage points higher than for pupils in state-funded schools/colleges (82.3%). The gap between these two groups has decreased from 7.5 to 6.4 percentage points for the latest cohort.

Progression to High Tariff Higher Education

The gap however remains large when focusing on high tariff HE.  The proportion who had progressed to high tariff HE by age 19 by 2021/22 was: 

• 63.2% for pupils who took A levels in Independent schools 
• 30.4% for pupils in state-funded schools/colleges 
• This gap of 32.8 percentage points is up from the previous cohort's gap of 31.2 percentage points.

State-funded School Type  Figures for Selective State and Other State schools can be downloaded from the School Type file in the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.

Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF)

We have removed the section on the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), although the data is still available to download from the Explore data and files section at the top of this page.
 
The data will be removed in future publications. If this would cause you concern please get in touch with us at:

HE.statistics@education.gov.uk

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• Widening participation in higher education

Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

• managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
• meet identified user needs
• produced according to sound methods
• well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.

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