THE gap between rich and poor going to university is likely to widen in Britain as poorer students are deterred from applying because of the costs involved.

Researchers have found that the proportion of middle-class students going into further education far exceeds that from poorer backgrounds.

Academics measured the progress to higher education of households in 7,000 postcodes over eight years across England and Wales.

Anna Vignoles, of the Institute of Education, found that between 1995 and 2002 more than three quarters of students from professional backgrounds studied for a degree, compared with just 14 per cent of those from unskilled backgrounds, a gap that has persisted for 40 years.

In postcode areas where household earnings were £10,950 a year — half the national mean income — Dr Vignoles discovered that the proportion of young people going to university or entering higher education increased slightly from 0.89 per cent to 1.77 per cent.

But for families earning £21,890 a year, that rate almost doubled from 10.04 per cent to 19.16 per cent.

In households, where the average income was double that, at about £40,000 a year, the proportion of young people taking part in higher education rose from a third to a half.

Yesterday Dr Vignoles said: “Things are getting better, it’s a question of a half glass full as everybody is more likely to go into higher education, but the gap between rich and poor is also widening.

“However, our research also shows that this gap predates tuition fees, which had almost no impact on the trend at all after 1998, when they were introduced.”

The research was published yesterday in The Times Higher Educational Supplement.

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