21st December 2012 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Conclusive UCAS figures show that there has been a record fall in the number of people taking up places at university this year, with boys less likely to attend university than girls. 54,000 fewer students took up places this autumn, which constitutes a 6.6% drop in the number of people starting a university course.
The sharp fall is mostly due to the rise in tuition fees in England to £9,000 per year, and the fall in the number of applications from students in England is the highest in the UK. Sally Hunt from the UCU has said that higher education in the UK will suffer badly if the financial barriers to students going to university are not removed.
A further finding is that the gender gap between girls and boys going to university has widened. Girls are now more likely to apply to university and also more likely to get into the most selective universities.