Alistair Jarvis, Chief Executive of Universities
UK, said: “It’s excellent to see that 18 year
olds in England increasingly value a university education, with a
record rate of applications. We are also pleased to see a record
high in the percentage of young people from disadvantaged areas
applying to university.
“However, we need to be more ambitious. To retain a
competitive advantage on the global stage post-Brexit we must
encourage and support more of the population through higher level
study.
“To drive social mobility and strengthen the economy the current
post-18 education review should recommend policies to support
access for anyone who has the potential to benefit from a
university education. This should include better support for
part-time learning and targeted maintenance grants for those most
in need.
“It’s great news that international students want to come and
study in the UK, however this data only provides a partial
picture of what is going on – international postgraduates will
not apply via the UCAS undergraduate route, for example. The UK
is not keeping pace with other major study destinations such as
Australia, New Zealand and Canada. We are calling for
a new graduate
visa that will make the UK more attractive to
international students, allowing a wider range of employers, in
all parts of the UK, to benefit from access to talented graduates
from around the world.”
