Findings from the data

Proportion of 18-year-olds in the UK and entering English higher education in 2019-20 as full-time undergraduate students, by characteristic

Note: Because of rounding, the gaps shown in the table might not be the same as the difference between two proportions.

18-year-olds from POLAR4 quintile 1 areas were underrepresented in around two-thirds of English higher education providers in 2019-20.

Gaps in proportion of least represented 18-year-olds in 2018-19 (higher education provider compared with population)

Note: Based on proportions for 200 providers.

Further access data, including other student characteristics and part-time undergraduate entrants, is available in the access and participation data dashboard.

Continuation rates for those entrants continuing into 2018-19, by characteristic

Notes: Full-time continuation rates are for 2018-19 full-time or apprenticeship entrants continuing into their second year in 2019-20. Attributes with a * indicate those against which other attributes are compared when deriving gaps. Because of rounding, the gaps shown in the table might not be the same as the difference between two rates.

For 2018-19 entrants, the continuation rate for mature full-time students was 8.0 percentage points lower than for young full-time students.

The gap has widened by 0.9 percentage points over the last five years mainly because of a decline in the continuation rate for mature students.

The gap in continuation between full-time students with no known disability and students with a reported disability has fluctuated over the last five years, but for 2018-19 entrants the gap was the same as for 2014-15 entrants, at 0.9 percentage points.

The continuation rate for both white and black full-time students has decreased over the last five years. This decline has been sharper for black students than for white students, resulting in a widening of the gap between the two groups. For 2018-19 entrants the gap was 6.1 percentage points.

Attainment rates for full-time students obtaining a first or upper second-class degree in 2019-20 by characteristic

Note: Attainment rate reflects students obtaining a first or upper second-class degree in 2019-20. Attributes with a * indicate the one against which other attributes are compared against when deriving gaps. Because of rounding, the gaps shown in the table might not be the same as the difference between two rates.

The gap between the attainment rate for young and mature full-time students has remained about the same over the last five years. In 2019-20, the attainment rate for mature students was 9.6 percentage points lower than for young students (under 21 at the age of entry).

There was an 15.2 percentage point gap between the proportion of full-time students from the most and least deprived areas (IMD quintile 1 and quintile 5 respectively) achieving first or upper second-class degrees in 2019-20.

This gap in attainment rate between white and black students exists at most higher education providers. For more than half of providers, this gap is greater than 15 percentage points.

Gaps in full-time attainment rate between white and black students by provider

Note: Based on the attainment rate for 97 providers.