Access to education ‘lagging’ for mature students, says report

Older potential students are being overlooked by efforts to widen access, according to the Office for Fair Access.

The public body published an analysis on whether higher education institutions met their widening access targets for 2015-16 on 29 June.

Les Ebdon, director of the Office for Fair Access, said that although many universities and colleges contributed to a “national success story” for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, there was “no sign of improvement in access for mature and part-time learners, which continues to be a grave concern”.