Tuition fees saw drop in state-educated pupils going to university

The number of state-educated students going to university and colleges fell by four percentage points in the first year tuition fees were increased to £9,000 for all new undergraduates, new statistics show.

The drop from 66% to 62% between the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 academic years was part of a nine percentage point drop in state school pupils carrying on into higher education since 2009/2010, Department for Education figures revealed.

The figures, released on Wednesday, relate to English institutions only, where students pay £27,000 for a three-year-degree course under controversial increases brought in by the then Coalition government in 2012/2013.

The report, Widening Participation in Higher Education: 2016, noted: "The 2013/14 cohort was the first cohort where all students were affected by the change in tuition fees in 2012/13."

The figures were released days after the Government scrapped maintenance grants for students from poor backgrounds in England, replacing the payments of around £3,500 with additional loans which will have to be paid back at the end of an undergraduate course, once graduates are earning more than £21,000.