THE proportion of state school pupils and those from low- income families at university has dropped to its lowest level in three years, despite government pressure to increase their numbers. And, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency figures released today, the worst performer is Oxford.

The agency said that 320 fewer state-educated pupils went to university in 2004-05, down 0.1 of a percentage point from 86.8 per cent the previous year. The percentage of students from low-income families dropped from 28.6 per cent to 28.2 per cent.

Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister, told The Times that he was disappointed by the figures and that he had asked the Higher Education Funding Council to audit university programmes aimed at admitting more state pupils. “I’m reasonably confident these [programmes] will work but to be 300 per cent sure, I have asked [the council] to do a widening participation audit and report back to me by October,” he said. The Government wants half of young people to go to university by 2010.

The proportion of students from state schools was down in 14 of the country’s 19 leading universities, with Oxford still the most elite — 53.4 per cent of it students in 2004-05 were from state schools, a drop of 0.4 percentage points on the previous year, and the second fall in two years.

Cambridge’s state admissions dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 56.8 per cent.

While many top universities complained of being set impossibly high intake targets, admissions of state pupils rose at UCL and Liverpool, Newcastle and Edinburgh universities.

Malcolm Grant, chairman of the Russell Group of universities, said that he wanted to see more state pupils at university, but that it was important to maintain standards.

“We’re not saying that children from working-class backgrounds are less able, just less well prepared,” he said.

The figures also showed a rise in drop-out rates.

ENTRY LEVELS

Percentage of students from poorer households

Oxford 12.3
Cambridge 12.4
St Andrews 13.1
Bristol 13.4
Royal Academy of Music 14.0
London 15.4
Durham 15.6
Nottingham 15.7
Bath 16.1
Edinburgh 17.1

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