'Thinktank calls for changes to help widen participation of ‘most under-represented group in higher education’. Helping white, working-class boys in England to go on to higher education should be a top priority for policymakers, according to a manifesto to widen access to universities that identifies more than 30 gaps and weaknesses in policy. The document, published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi), includes proposals to appoint a national commissioner for student mental health, ...

Research into aspirations of working class girls in social mobility cold spots finds many lack reliable advice on education & careers.The UK has one of the widest attainment gaps in education within the developed world. This effectively means that if you are born in the UK to a family living in disadvantaged circumstances, you are much less likely to achieve your potential than your peers. And research shows it may take another 50 years to close this gap. Many young people who grow up in an ...

Parents across the East have spoken out against the education system - claiming it is failing a 'lost generation' of children with special educational needs. It's after a poll by the National Education Union revealed more than 40% of children over the age of four are not in full time school. It also found that half of parents aren't happy about provision and nearly three-quarters believe they aren't given adequate support to help their child. Michelle White's son Alex was 13 before his needs wer...

One thousand children from disadvantaged backgrounds will attend boarding school for free by 2023 under plans revealed by a charity today. The number represents a doubling of pupils receiving bursaries from the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation to attend state and independent boarding schools. Ian Davenport, chief executive of Royal SpringBoard, is set to announce the new target at the Boarding Schools' Association (BSA) conference, starting tomorrow, in Brighton. Read More.

It is often argued that higher education moves slowly, and that is never more true than where widening access is concerned. Policy-makers in individual countries are increasingly recognising that boosting participation in higher education means extending participation to hitherto under-represented groups and that those from all social backgrounds need to complete and succeed when they enter. But this recognition is too often not backed up by action, and while higher education institutions may be...

Back in the summer of 1997, Helena Kennedy proclaimed that the case for widening participation to higher and further education was “irresistible”. National strategies were drawn up, Whitehall circulars issued, and, two years later, Tony Blair stood before the Labour conference and pledged that 50 per cent of young people should go to university by 2010. Things seemed simpler then. While progress has been made in the overall rate of young people going to higher education in universities and FE co...

Former students will be able to earn more before they have to start paying back their tuition fee loans. English and Welsh students who took out loans from September 2012 onwards - when fees in England rose to up to £9,000 a year - will now start to pay back when they earn £25,000 a year instead of £21,000. The government says the move could save graduates up to £360 a year. Read More.

Since joining the Office for Students’ (OfS) Board and Student Panel, I have often been asked about my motivations and my route to higher education. For me, it was simple. I knew I wanted to learn a skill and gain a profession; the one that suited my talents was civil engineering. I have been privileged with the opportunities of higher education and a wealth of experience at university. I am the youngest of six children and the first in my family to go to university. My parents always instilled ...

Latest data shows an increase in the number of degree students leaving higher education in, during or after their first year of study. What factors may be affecting this trend? Recent HESA performance indicator data has shown another increase in the proportion of degree students who are no longer in higher education a year after starting. The figure now stands at 7.5 per cent of UK domiciled full-time first degree entrants. This is the fourth successive year that this increase has oc...