Academic year 2023/24

Widening participation in higher education

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Introduction

Annual statistics on young peoples' participation in higher education by student characteristics, including eligibility for free school meals, sex, ethnicity, special educational need status, first language, POLAR quintile 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 sex, ethnic group, special educational need status and free school meal eligibility.

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

Proposed changes to this publication

The Department for Education regularly reviews its statistical publications for quality and relevance of content and to ensure the statistics meet user needs. 

In order to improve and expand our reporting, we are proposing to combine this publication with Participation measures in higher education - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)

The combined publication will continue to cover the progression rates of English state-funded school pupils to higher education and will also expand to include additional breakdowns by student characteristics at older ages.

We invite users to provide feedback on this change to he.statistics@education.gov.uk.

COVID-19  Note the 2021/22 and 2022/23 data covers A level students who would have been affected by disruption to A level assessments caused by COVID-19. The 2023/24 data also covers students who were affected by disruption to GCSE assessments in 2020 and adaptations to A level exams in 2022 as part of the transition back to normal examinations.

Comparisons with other years should therefore be treated with caution.

Related information

Releases in this series

View releases (15) for Widening participation in higher education

Methodologies

Headline facts and figures - 2023/24

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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 and English Further Education Colleges. 

The release also includes progression rates by care leaver status for the first time.

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 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.

Given the calculation is carried out each year, providers may move in and out of the high tariff grouping over time. This can lead to volatile high tariff progression rates at regional and local authority level if a large local provider moves between tariff groups. Therefore, changes in high tariff progression rates over time should be treated with caution.

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

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.

Changes to Matching Methodology

The methodology used to match the National Pupil Database (NPD) to the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s (HESA) Student Record and the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) was revised last year and we continue to make efforts to improve the methodology. We believe any impact of changes in matching on the numbers in this publication is very small but it may affect comparisons with the data prior to 2022/23 for small groups in particular.

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 (opens in a new tab)]. 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 document. 

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 (opens in a new tab)

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.

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Impact from COVID-19

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer exam series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes were set up to award grades.

In both 2020 and 2021 A level attainment increased compared to previous years and was higher than would be expected in a typical year. 

The higher A level attainment in 2020 and 2021 led to more students being accepted to HE and in particular to high tariff HE, which may explain the increased progression rates in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

As part of the transition back to a normal summer exam series, adaptations were made to the exams (including advance information) and the approach to grading for 2022 exams broadly reflected a midpoint between results in 2019 and 2021.

Comparisons with 2021/22 and 2022/23 should therefore be treated with caution.

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Free School Meals

Free School Meals 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 2023/24, 15.8% were eligible for FSM at age 15, the highest in the series and up from 14.1% in 2022/23. 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 28.9% for the 2023/24 cohort. However, the progression rate has fallen slightly in each of the past two years.

The progression rate for non-FSM eligible pupils has risen from 33.5% for the 2005/06 cohort to 49.0% for the 2023/24 cohort, down from 49.8% last year. 

The progression rate gap between FSM eligible pupils and non-FSM eligible pupils has remained relatively stable over time. The gap in 2023/24 was 20.1 percentage points, which is down from 20.8 percentage points last year.

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

2.9% 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 in 2023/24 was 4.9%, down from 6.1% the previous year. 

The progression rate for non-FSM eligible pupils has risen from 10.9% for the 2009/10 cohort to 14.3% for the 2023/24 cohort. This is down from 16.8% in 2022/23. 

The progression rate gap between FSM eligible pupils and non-FSM eligible pupils was 9.4 percentage points for the 2023/24 cohort, down from 10.6 percentage points last year.

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Free School Meals - Region and Local Authority

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, 28.9% had progressed to HE by age 19 by 2023/24
  • The highest regional rate was in Inner London, where over half (50.7%) progressed to HE by age 19 by 2023/24
  • The South West had the lowest regional rate with 19.3% progressing to HE by age 19 by 2023/24
  • The gap in progression rates between London (the highest region) and the South West (the lowest region) for Free School Meal pupils was 29.0 percentage points in 2023/24
For non-FSM eligible pupils at age 15:
  • Nationally, 49.0% had progressed to HE by age 19 by 2023/24
  • London again had the highest regional rate – with almost two-thirds  (63.6%) progressing to HE by age 19 by 2023/24
  • The South West had the lowest regional rate with 42.4% progressing to HE by age 19 by 2023/24
Overall
  • Overall HE progression rates are highest in London (60.6%) and lowest in the South West (39.5%) 
  • London was the only region with progression rates noticeably above the national average of 45.8%

Progression to Higher Education by Region - Free School Meal Eligible pupils

This section focuses on the change in progression rates over time by region. The chart highlights the England average, highest region (London) and lowest region (South West) with the remaining regions show in grey

London has had the highest progression rates for pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) throughout the time series. The gap between London and the rest of England has generally grown over time but fell slightly in the latest year. 

In 2005/06, 25.6% of pupils in London progressed to HE by age 19, 11.4 percentage points higher than the England average and 17.2 percentage points above the lowest region (North East). 

By 2023/24, almost half of pupils in London progressed to HE by age 19 (48.3%), 19.4 percentage points above the national average and 29.0 percentage points above the lowest region (South West).

Progression to High Tariff Higher Education

Progression to high tariff HE providers also varies by region. 

  • In London, 10.2% of pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15 progressed to high tariff HE by age 19 by 2023/24 – a rate more than three times higher than for the lowest region, the East Midlands (3.0%) 
  • London also had the highest progression rates for non-FSM eligible pupils at age 15 – at 20.9% 
  • The West Midlands had the lowest progression rate for non-FSM eligible pupils (11.2%)

Overall

  • Overall high tariff HE progression rates are highest in London (18.8%) and lowest in the West Midlands (9.9%)

Progression to high tariff Higher Education by Region - Free School Meal Eligible pupils

This section focuses on the change in high tariff progression rates over time by region. The chart highlights the England average, highest region (London) and lowest region (East Midlands) with the remaining regions show in grey

Note that high tariff progression rates at regional and local authority level can be volatile over time as large local providers may change tariff groups between years

London has had the highest progression rates to high tariff HE for pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) throughout the time series. 

In 2009/10, 5.5% of pupils in London progressed to high tariff HE by age 19, 2.6 percentage points higher than the England average and 4.8 percentage points above the lowest region (North East). 

By 2023/24, 10.2% of pupils in London progressed to high tariff HE by age 19, 5.4 percentage points above the national average and 7.2 percentage points above the lowest region (East Midlands).

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 13 Local Authorities in London, HE Progression rates by age 19 were above 50% for FSM eligible pupils, but were below 20% in around 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 15 Local Authorities in London, the progression rate to high tariff HE for FSM eligible pupils was above 10%, compared to 4.9% nationally. 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.

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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

The progression rate for disadvantaged pupils was 31.2% in 2023/24, down from 31.9% in 2022/23. This compares to over half (50.5%) of all other pupils in 2023/24, down from 51.8% in 2022/23. 

The progression rate gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils has decreased from 19.9 percentage points in 2022/23 to 19.3 percentage points in 2023/24.

Progression to High Tariff Higher Education

5.4% of disadvantaged pupils progressed to high tariff HE in by age 19 by 2023/24, down from 6.9% in 2022/23. This rate is more than two and a half times lower than the rate for all other pupils (15.1%). 

The high tariff progression rate gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils has decreased from 11.1 percentage points in 2022/23 to 9.7 percentage points in 2023/24.

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POLAR

POLAR (opens in a new tab) 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 2023/24 as those from the most disadvantaged quintile, at 60.4% compared to 31.6%. There has been some narrowing of the gap over time with the progression rate for the most advantaged increasing by 9.2 percentage points since 2009/10 compared to 13.6 percentage points for the most disadvantaged. The gap has decreased in the latest year.

Progression to High Tariff HE

The gap widens proportionately when looking at progression to high tariff HE. The most advantaged pupils were four times more likely to progress to high tariff HE than the most disadvantaged pupils in 2023/24. 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.

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Sex

Progression to Higher Education

More than half (52.5%) of female pupils entered HE by age 19 by 2023/24 compared to 39.5% of males. The gap in progression rates between males and females fell from 13.2 to 13.0 percentage points between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Progression to High Tariff HE

14.7% of female pupils entered high tariff HE by age 19 by 2023/24 compared to 11.0% of males. The gap in progression rates between females and males decreased from 4.5 to 3.7 percentage points in the latest year.

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

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Ethnic Group

This section focuses on four broad ethnic groups: Asian/Asian British, Black/African/Caribbean/Black British, Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups and White. Note that the Asian ethnic group includes 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 varies significantly by ethnic group. Asian/Asian British pupils were the most likely to progress to HE by age 19 by 2023/24 at 67.4%, compared to 63.3% for Black/African/Caribbean/Black British, 50.2% for Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups and 40.5% for White. 

Black pupils have seen the greatest increase in the proportion progressing to HE – from 44.1% in 2009/10 to 63.3% in 2023/24 and were the only broad ethnic group to see an increase in progression rate in the latest year.

Progression to High Tariff HE

Asian/Asian British pupils were also the most likely to progress to high tariff HE by age 19 by 2023/24 at 18.6%. 

White pupils were the least likely to progress to high tariff HE at 11.7%.

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Free School Meals, Sex 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 86.6% in 2023/24. 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 English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British pupils who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15 were much lower than most other groups with rates of 22.1% for females and 13.8% for males in 2023/24. The progression rate for White English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British FSM eligible males is at the highest level recorded. The rate for females had increased every year between 2011/12 and 2021/22 but has fallen in the latest two years.

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 6.6% in 2023/24 was just over half the overall national figure (12.8%). The progression rate for females decreased from 11.0% to 9.5% between 2022/23 and 2023/24 and the rate for males has decreased from 5.7% to 3.8%, which is the lowest rate since 2016/17.

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Special Educational Needs (SEN)

SEN Support  From 2015, the School Action and School Action Plus categories were 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.

Education Health and Care 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. For further details on these definitions see Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND): Overview - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)

Progression to Higher Education

The progression rates for pupils with Special Education Needs lag well behind those for other pupils. Just 9.4% of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) progressed to HE by age 19 by 2023/24 compared to 25.4% of pupils on SEN Support and 50.1% for pupils with no SEN provision.

The progression rate for pupils with SEN increased in the latest year to the highest in the time series, whilst the rate decreased for pupils with no SEN provision.

Progression to High Tariff HE

Just 1.5% of pupils with and EHCP and 4.6% of those on SEN support progressed to high tariff HE in 2023/24. In comparison, the progression rate for other pupils was 14.3%.

Progression rates have decreased for all groups in the latest year.

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.

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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 progress to HE by age 19. 60.9% of pupils with a first language other than English progressed to HE by age 19 by 2023/24 compared to 42.8% of pupils with English as a first language. The progression rates have increased by 10.0 percentage points and 10.7 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 14.9% doing so by 2023/24 compared to 12.4% of pupils with English as a first language. 

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Children in Need

Children in Need  A child in need is defined under the Children Act 1989 (opens in a new tab) 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 2023/24 (unchanged since 2021/22) compared to 47% of all other pupils (down from 48% last year).

Progression to High Tariff HE

The progression rate to high tariff HE for Children in Need was 2% in 2023/24. The rate is the same as last year and more than six times lower than the 13% of all other pupils who progressed to high tariff HE. 

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Looked After Children

A child is looked after by a local authority under the Children Act 1989 (opens in a new tab) 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

15% of pupils who were looked after continuously for 12 months or more at 31st March 2020 progressed to HE by age 19 by 2023/24, the same as last year. However, the progression rate for all other pupils is more than three times higher at 46% (down from 47% last year).

Progression to High Tariff HE

The progression rate to high tariff HE for children looked after continuously for at least 12 months has remained at 2% since 2016/17. Over the same time period the high tariff progression rate has increased from 11% to 13%. 

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Care Leavers

Care leavers  Local authorities provide information about eligible young people who had ceased to be looked after, who turned 17 to 25 in the reporting year (to 31st March).

These eligible young people were looked after for at least 13 weeks following their 14th birthday, including some time after their 16th birthday. Information provided for 17-21 year olds relates to contact around their birthday in the reporting year.

This publication presents figures for state-funded and special school pupils who were 15 at the start of the academic year who were later known to be care leavers at age 19.

Progression to Higher Education

13% of pupils who were later known to be care leavers progressed to HE by age 19 by 2023/24, the same as last year. However, the progression rate for all other pupils is more than three times higher at 46% (down from 47% last year).

Progression to High Tariff HE

The progression rate to high tariff HE for pupils who were later known to be care leavers  was 2% in 2023/24, down from 3% last year. This is more than six times lower that the rate for other pupils.

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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

From 2017/18 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.

Progression to Higher Education

86.9% of pupils who took A levels in Independent schools progressed to HE, 7.2 percentage points higher than for pupils in state-funded schools/colleges (79.7%). The gap between these two groups has increased slightly from 6.5 last year.

Progression to High Tariff Higher Education

The gap however remains large when focusing on high tariff HE. 60.4% of pupils who took A levels in Independent schools progressed to high tariff HE, 32.2 percentage points higher than those in state-funded schools/colleges (28.2%). This gap is down from 33.6 percentage points last year.

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.

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Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

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.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Widening participation in higher education statistics and data:

Widening participation statistics

Email: HE.statistics@education.gov.uk
Contact name: John Simes

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