New research suggests that Labour have failed in opening access to higher education and have done little in their attempt to improve social mobility. Say the Guardian:
‘Attempts to increase the proportion of university students from low-income families and ethnic minorities have been at the heart of Labour’s higher education policies. They are linked to the government’s target to have 50% of young people in university by next year.
Universities such as Bristol have tried to shake off their reputation for elitism, with initiatives to encourage under-represented groups to apply. But the research shows that at Bristol University 3% of students come from the poorest quarter of homes, while 54% are from the richest quarter.’
According the to the same paper, leading universities attract a wealthier clientele than traditionally middle class department stores. This is possibly a meaningless comparison and cheap journalism, but makes a nice soundbite:
‘Not even John Lewis, that most quintessential of middle-class brands, has customers as rich as the oldest universities’ students. More than half - 55% - of the students at Bristol, Warwick and Queen’s Belfast universities (the three Russell Group institutions in the study) come from the wealthiest homes, according to Caci’s data.
Just over a third (36%) of John Lewis’s customers and 34% of House of Fraser’s come from the same group.’
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Some universities, it seems, continue to exist for the priviliged few. One wonders if they make the most of the opportunity while there.
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