About the Sutton Trust

In the fifth of institutions with the lowest rates of state school access, the proportion of state students in 1997 was around 20% below the sector average. [...] To take this into account, HEFCE created the ‘Performance Indicators’ dataset which gave each university a benchmark for under-represented groups based on the numbers of pupils achieving an equivalent grade and in similar subjects to other entrants.4 In 2004, the Trust used this data to identify the ‘missing 3,000’ state school students who had the grades to study at the most selective institution. [...] However, this was only slightly above the next closest region in England, with around 31% from the South East applying, about 29% in the East of England, and the lowest rates in the North East at around 26%. [...] However, at top universities, the situation did actually disimprove in the 2000s in comparison to the rest of the sector, before improving again in the 2010s and early 2020s during the time of most concerted efforts. [...] This generation of young people must not be locked out of opportunities because of the impact of the pandemic, and universities have a vital role to play in looking at the achievements of this group of young people contextually, taking into account the unequal impacts of the pandemic when making decisions on admissions.