According to Times Higher Education: "The gap between university entry rates for the most advantaged and disadvantaged students is wider than previously thought, and progress in closing it has halted." They report that "Research by Ucas indicates that the most privileged school leavers may be three times more likely to enter higher education than the least privileged." This is far higher than previous analysis has suggested. Using a measure based on local socio economic data, gender, ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals, the study found that only 14 per cent of the least advantaged group entered higher education in 2015, compared with the 18 per cent figure 45.3 per cent of the most advantaged groups.

These findings are hardly surprising. Amongst all the different measures of predictive achievement, social class remains the most compelling. And with inequality in income and standard of living growing rapidly in the UK, it is hardly surprising that inequality in access to higher education is also growing. It  may also be considered that £9000 annual tuition fees may also be a disincentive to the 'least advantaged', even when the carrot of the so called graduate premium is dangled before them