Young participation by area

About POLAR and Adult HE

This page explains more about two of the underlying measures we use to classify local areas: POLAR and Adult HE.

We will not be making any changes or updates to the POLAR4 methodology and there will be no POLAR5. However, we will continue to include POLAR4 in our updates to our postcode look-up. As a result it will still be possible to find the POLAR4 quintile associated with both existing and new postcodes. Both POLAR4 and TUNDRA remain relevant measures of participation, and TUNDRA is not a substitute for POLAR4.

What is POLAR?

The participation of local areas (POLAR) classification groups areas across the UK based on the proportion of young people who participate in higher education.

It looks at how likely young people are to participate in higher education across the UK and shows how this varies by area.

POLAR classifies local areas into five groups - or quintiles - based on the proportion of young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19 years old.

Quintile one shows the lowest rate of participation. Quintile five shows the highest rate of participation.

See full details of the POLAR methodology.

How is POLAR4 calculated?

POLAR4 classifies local areas across the UK according to the young participation rate in higher education using Middle-Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs) for England and Wales, Intermediate Zones for Scotland, and Super Output Areas for Northern Ireland (second-level statistical building block).

The young participation rate is calculated by dividing the number of young people from each area who enter higher education aged 18 or 19 by the young population of that area.

POLAR4 was calculated using data on students who begun their studies between 2009-10 and 2013-14.

The areas are then ranked by participation rate and split into five quintiles, each of which represents about a fifth of the young population.

POLAR4 does not limit the student population by school type and does not track individual students.

POLAR4 is the most recent iteration of POLAR. Read more about POLAR4.

What is Adult HE 2011?

Our Adult HE 2011 measure assigns a quintile to an area based on the proportion of adults from that area that held a higher education qualification at the point of the 2011 census. This measure uses the same boundaries as POLAR4 and is included for the UK.

Read the methodology for this measure

Get the data

POLAR4

POLAR4 quintiles and participation rates, at the level of Middle Layer Super Output Areas can be downloaded below.

This dataset was created in September 2020 to account for a request from the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy to suppress the Northern Ireland populations and participation rates. The POLAR4 quintiles for areas in Northern Ireland are still available in this dataset. Note, the POLAR4 quintiles in this dataset have not been changed and are identical to those published in September 2018.

Get the POLAR4 data as an Excel file

Get the POLAR4 data as a CSV file

Adult HE 2011 quintiles and rates

Adult HE 2011 quintiles and rates at the level of Middle Layer Super Output Areas can be downloaded below. This dataset was first published in September 2020.

Adult HE 2011 quintiles and rates as an Excel file

Adult HE 2011 quintiles and rates as a CSV file

Low areas of young participation

We have also published the proportion of postcodes in parliamentary constituencies in England that are in low young higher education participation areas, defined by POLAR4 quintiles 1 and 2.

Get the data by parliamentary constituency

Analysis of applicants by POLAR4 28 days after results day

We have published analyses of UCAS-placed applicants by POLAR4 28 days after the Joint Council for Qualifications results day.

Placed applicants 2021

Placed applicants 2020

Archived measures

POLAR3

POLAR3 quintiles and participation rates, at the level of Census Area Statistics wards can be downloaded below. This dataset also contains Adult HE 2001 quintiles. Note, this dataset was created in September 2012 and has not been changed as part of subsequent updates.

Get the POLAR3 data as a CSV file

Gaps and Gaps Ethnicity

Details of the Gaps and Gaps Ethnicity measures can be found on the archived HEFCE website. Note, the interactive dashboards found on the archived website no longer function, but detailed information and data can still be found on the page.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about area-based measures

PDF, 173Kb

Read our frequently asked questions about the POLAR and TUNDRA area-based measures of young participation.

Last updated 30 September 2022 + show all updates

30 September 2022: The page has been updated with the latest data.
11 March 2021: Updated details of TUNDRA
24 September 2020: The page has been restructured and updated to reflect the latest release of the POLAR data.

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Young participation by area

About POLAR and Adult HE

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