Regulator must improve social mobility, report says

The Office for Students needs to be able to work with universities on admissions systems to improve fair access to higher education, a report by the think thank Reform has said.

Although universities are increasing their spending on outreach to disadvantaged students, the institutions with the highest entry requirements have struggled to achieve a wider intake, according to the report published on 5 September.

In 2016, students who were eligible for free school meals—a proxy measure for disadvantage—were less than half as likely to go to university compared with students who were not. In 2014-15, 65 per cent of private school students entered one of the top one-third of the most selective universities, compared with 23 per cent of state-school students.