UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service in the UK, released new figures on Tuesday, February 6, which show the highest ever proportion of state-school pupils going to university and the highest ever proportion of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds applying to university courses.

The figures show that 90 per cent of university entrants in 2017 came from state schools and 22.6 per cent of university applicants, applying by January’s UCAS deadline, were from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Welcoming the figures, Central Devon MP Mel Stride said: “The fact that a disadvantaged 18-year-old in England is more likely to apply to university now than ever before is really good news and I’m delighted that the number of 18-year-olds in Central Devon applying to university has increased by nearly a third since 2009.

“But university isn’t the right option for everyone and equally important are the 1.1 million apprenticeship starts between May 2015 and December 2017, giving young people the skills and qualifications they need to embark on a successful career while earning.”

Due to economic hardship Mr Stride’s parents left school at 15 and 14 and he was the first in his family to go to university after receiving a free place at a grammar school.

He has spoken in the House of Commons about the importance of education in aiding social mobility and served as a ministerial aide in the Business Department in the early part of the last Parliament where he helped deliver a massive rise in apprenticeships.

Since he was elected in 2010 Mr Stride has organised several trips from the three state schools in his constituency – Okehampton College, Queen Elizabeth’s in Crediton and South Dartmoor College in Ashburton – to Oxford University to encourage the brightest pupils to aim high and not be intimidated by applying to the best universities.

Alan Quick