Experts have called for a national debate about “culture and ambition in white working class families” after it emerged that the number of young white people going to university has declined over the past three years, despite an overall increase in admissions.
New figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show the number of white students has fallen by more than 34,000 since 2013/14 – a decrease of 2 per cent – while in total enrolments rose by 1 per cent in the same period.
Other ethnic groups, meanwhile, saw significant increases, with the number of black students up by 11 per cent, Asian students by 12 per cent and those from other or mixed ethnic backgrounds by 18 per cent. Read more.