Fewer Young People from the UK Feel Likely to Enter Higher Education
Results from our latest survey for the Sutton Trust shows an ongoing fall in the proportion of young people who feel likely to go into higher education.
Results from the annual Ipsos Young People Omnibus shows an ongoing fall in the proportion of young people aged 11-16 who feel likely to go into higher education.
The survey was conducted among a sample of 2,612 pupils in secondary schools in England and Wales on behalf of the Sutton Trust; it indicates that three in four (74%) feel very or fairly likely to enter higher education. This is the lowest proportion that Ipsos has recorded through this survey since 2009 (when it was 73%) and represents a significant decline since the high-point recorded in 2013 (81%). The proportion who say they feel unlikely to enter higher education has also gone up (14% this year, compared with 11% in 2016 and eight per cent in 2012).
Among those who feel unlikely to enter higher education, the most common reasons are that they prefer to do something practical rather than studying (54%), want to start earning money as soon as possible (51%) do not enjoy learning (36%) and do not feel clever enough (35%). These figures have generally remained consistent compared with last year, although a greater proportion now say they do not enjoy learning (up from 23% in 2016).
Meanwhile, those who do feel likely to enter higher education are increasingly concerned about the financial undertaking involved. The proportion who felt very or fairly worried about the cost of higher education declined steadily between 2014 and 2016 (from 51% down to 47%). However, this figure has gone back up to 51%.
A parallel version of the survey in Scotland shows that a lower proportion of young people who feel likely to enter higher education are also worried about the cost (40% compared with 51% in England and Wales). This may well reflect the absence of tuition fees for young people in Scotland, although the proportion who are worried is still substantial.
Of those young people who feel likely to enter higher education and also feel worried about the cost of it, they are most often concerned about tuition fees of up to £9,000 a year (46%). This is followed by repaying student loans for potentially up to 30 years (18%) and the cost of living as a student (16%).
