By Mat Johnstone, News Editor

 

Inequality in access to university may be harder than ever before, according to UCAS.

The Universities and Colleges Admission Service claimed the most common way of working out inequality is outdated.

School students from economically affluent areas may be three times more likely to go to university than those from deprived areas if new technique is used.

The Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) software has also been criticised for not considering race or gender in its calculations.

More accurate figures show that only 14% of the most deprived school leavers in England progressed to higher education.

These figures came from UCAS’s end of cycle report into the state of higher education in Britain.

Iain Murray, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, said to The Student: “It serves to demonstrate why widening participation and tackling educational inequality should be a priority of both the UK and Scottish Governments, and all those who want to create a more just and egalitarian society.”