Number of Scots from deprived areas at uni second highest on record
Data from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) shows that 16.7% of full-time first-degree entrants to university in 2023-24 were from the 20% most deprived areas of the country.
That is up from 16.3% in 2022/23 and 16.5% in 2021/22, and matches the figure in 2020/21 – though that year had more entrants overall, meaning more people from deprived areas went to university, but the percentage remained the same.
Those from the 20% most deprived backgrounds going to college also increased in the most recent figures to 28.9% – up 28% from 2022/23 but down from a high of 29.1% in 2019-20.
The total number of all Scottish undergraduates in full-time higher education stood at 20.8% in 2023-24, up from 20.2% the year before but down from a peak of 21.4% in 2019-20.
READ MORE:
The number of care-experienced Scots entering higher education was recorded 2.4%, with the figure having increased every year since 2013-14.
The number of Scots with disabilities entering university also increased to a record high of 23.3%.
Graeme Dey, the higher and further education minister, said the figures show access for the poorest Scots is improving.
He said: 'These figures show that the number of people from deprived areas in Scotland studying full-time for their first degree in 2023-24 was the second highest on record.
'The number of Scots, from the most deprived areas, entering university on full-time first degree courses is up 37% since this Government established the Commission on Widening Access, while we have also seen record numbers of Scots from deprived areas accepted to study in 2024, increasing by 11% since 2023.
'The findings today are a testament to the great work being done by both our universities and colleges to improve access, with an increase to 20.8% of all full-time entrants to undergraduate HE courses, including colleges, coming from the most deprived areas.
'However, there is more to do to meet the goal of 20% of all entrants being from the 20% most deprived communities by 2030.
'I will continue to work constructively with the sector to create more opportunities for people from the poorest backgrounds to go to university and gain qualifications which will help in our mission to eradicate child poverty.
'Our continued pledge to keep tuition fees free is also ensuring that access to higher education is based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Hardcore Nats want to ‘dissolve the union' if Westminster blocks IndyRef2
They rejected a strategy by the First Minister INDY REBELS Hardcore Nats want to 'dissolve the union' if Westminster blocks IndyRef2 Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NATS rebels want MSPs to 'dissolve' the Union if Westminster blocks their path to independence. The hardliners insist talks on a UK split must start if pro-indy parties win a majority of List votes at next May's Holyrood election. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 4 Hardcore Nats reckon the Union should be "dissolved" if pro-Indy parties get a majority of List MSPs Credit: Alamy 4 They rejected John Swinney's strategy Credit: PA 4 Longtime party activist Graeme McCormick is one of the people behind the strategy Credit: Graeme McCormick They have rejected John Swinney's strategy and instead want the party to back their hardline tactic. Mr Swinney said last month that a majority of SNP seats at May's Scottish Parliament election would be a mandate for a second referendum. But the rebel group of 43 branches want Holyrood to begin negotiations on leaving the UK if half of voters back any pro-independence party - meaning the SNP, Scottish Greens, Alba or any other nationalist candidate. If Westminster refuses to acknowledge this approach then Holyrood should immediately 'dissolve the union', they say. It comes despite a landmark Supreme Court judgement in 2022 which effectively ruled out any legal path to independence other than a referendum agreed to by Westminster. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'This spat just demonstrates how out of touch John Swinney and the SNP are with ordinary Scots. 'Under the nationalists, our public services are in meltdown and taxes are sky high. "But instead of fixing the mess they've created, they're fighting about how best to push their independence obsession. 'John Swinney should stop fixating on tearing up the UK and focus on his day job.' Alastair Cameron, chair of Scotland in Union, said: 'Imagine if the SNP spent as much time exploring how to save the NHS rather than fighting over different wheezes for an unwanted second referendum.' Five moments you missed from a weekend with Donald Trump in Scotland The SNP 'Group of 43' has submitted a motion for approval by the SNP's conference committee which states: 'Conference instructs the Party to prioritise obtaining a mandate from the sovereign Scottish people to deliver independence. 'This will be possible by achieving a majority of the popular vote on the sum of the Independence Supporting Parties' List Votes in the 2026 Scottish parliamentary election.' Longtime party activist Graeme McCormick, one of the people behind the strategy, told The Herald: 'As you can imagine in the SNP, there are lots of views on how to achieve independence. A few of us who have been involved in the movement for a long time came together to propose this plan. 'If we get a majority of pro-independence votes on the list, we'll open negotiations with the UK Government around independence. If the negotiations aren't successful, then we'll move to dissolve the union. It's perfectly legal to do so.' The group will meet at St Matthew's Church in Perth to 'plan strategic amendments' and 'decide together how we take this initiative forward.' An invitation to the meeting stated: 'We are done asking for referenda. Never again will we accept a Scottish SNP leader or First Minister going cap in hand to Westminster for permission to leave the Union. That time is past.' Kenny MacAskill, leader of the Alba Party and a former member of the radical '79 Group' that dragged the SNP to the left under Alex Salmond, said he 'recognised and welcomed the old radical fire that still exsits within the SNP membership'. He said: 'They are now way ahead of the SNP leadership on the question of delivering independence.'
Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow Subway poke fun at Donald Trump in social media post
In a new podcast interview, Trump praised the Scots as "great fighters" before saying that there are no subways in Scotland. (Image: Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) While on Pod Force One Podcast, Trump said: "The Scottish people are really amazing and they're great fighters too, that's why England sort of never... Braveheart, one of the great movies of all time, England had a hard time with Scotland they just couldn't quite tame them. "They're great people, no crime, you don't have crime, you don't have muggings, you don't have people getting hit over the head when they're not looking with a baseball bat. They're not pushed into a subway if they had them, which they don't. You wouldn't have them pushed into a subway." However, Glasgow is the only city in Scotland which has a subway system. The comments follow Trump's visits to his golf courses in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. He also had a meeting with the First Minister during his time in the country. (Image: Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) Glasgow Subway have since hit back at Trump for his false claims. Taking to Instagram, they wrote: "Sorry Mr President, we've been here since 1896. My Glasgow, My Subway." People have bee quick to applaud Glasgow Subway for the post. One person said: "I love you, Glasgow Subway page." Another said: "Fact checked by Glasgow Subway is wild."
Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Scottish Tories eye Reform electoral pact
Senior Scottish Conservatives have discussed striking an electoral pact with Reform UK for the Holyrood elections next spring. One figure backing a deal told The Telegraph it could help avoid splitting the vote on the Right and kick the SNP out of power in Scotland. The deal, which would not need to be made public, would see the Tories either not stand candidates or go easy in areas where Reform is better placed to win and vice versa. It comes as Nigel Farage 's party sits above the Conservatives in third place in opinion polls for the Scottish Parliament elections next May. A pact does not have the backing of Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tory leader, whose team released a statement ruling out the possibility when approached by The Telegraph. But the fact a deal is being considered at senior levels in the party underscores the scale of Reform's popularity surge north of the border and the concerns it has triggered among Tories. In Scotland, Reform now has 15 councillors, 14 of whom used to be Conservatives. It is in marked contrast to other political parties previously run by Mr Farage, such as the UK Independence Party (Ukip), which struggled to get a foothold north of border. One Tory MSP has privately spoken of a defection 'watch list' in Holyrood of those suspected of switching to Reform. Mr Farage also waved away the idea he would agree to any such pact, telling The Telegraph: 'No chance. The Tories are dying in Scotland and I've got no desire to do a deal with them whatsoever.' The idea of some form of agreement, public or private, between the Conservatives and Reform has become a common discussion point in Westminster. Average UK-wide voting polls have Reform in first place on 30 per cent of the vote, with the Tories in a distant third on 17 per cent. Labour is in second place on 22 per cent. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has ruled out a pre-vote deal with Mr Farage, but speculation continues with the next general election not due until 2029. The recent by-election result for the Scottish Parliament seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse underscored the challenges of Right-wing parties splitting the vote. Labour won the seat with 32 per cent of the vote, followed by the SNP on 29 per cent. Reform came third on 26 per cent. Had the Tories, who got 6 per cent, not stood a candidate, it is possible Reform would have beaten Labour and taken the seat, though pollsters often caution against hard conclusions when predicting voter behaviour. Mr Farage has agreed to election pacts before. The Brexit Party, the precursor to Reform which Mr Farage led, had criticism of the Tory handling of the issue of Europe as its heart. Yet he still agreed not to stand candidates against sitting Conservatives at the 2019 general election to help Boris Johnson win and get a Brexit deal through the Commons, securing the UK's departure from the European Union. Despite interest in some quarters of the Scottish Conservative Party, other figures strongly played down the possibility of a pact. One Scottish Tory politician who has spent years in influential positions said: 'Churchill's phrase comes to mind, 'You don't negotiate with a tiger when your head's in its mouth'. We're in competition with Reform – we're not in partnership with them.' The source said Scottish Tory supporters had brought up the prospect of a deal with Reform but that there was little chance it would be adopted by the leadership. Another senior Scottish Tory said: 'Why would Reform do a deal? I can see why we might be interested in it, but why would they?' There have long been suspicions on the Right of coordination between Labour and the Liberal Democrats at general elections to maximise the chances of Tory defeats. The Lib Dems surged from winning 11 MPs at the 2019 general election to 72 MPs at the 2024 general election with almost no increase in overall vote share. The party's strategists have talked about how they ruthlessly focused on a small number of winnable seats rather than competing hard everywhere. Labour was likely to have benefited from the decreased campaigning in non-target seats. But there are reasons why striking some form of deal would be less likely in elections for the Scottish Parliament than the UK-wide Parliament in Westminster. The electoral system for the Scottish Parliament has a proportional element, meaning as well as individual constituency races a party wins some MPs for their overall vote totals. Reform, whose strategists hope to get between 10 and 20 MSPs next spring, is expected to get their victories almost entirely via this way, known as 'the list', rather than winning constituencies. That could provide a disincentive to strike a deal with the Tories, given a lower overall vote total would likely mean fewer MSPs thanks to this proportion element of the election. In polling for next spring's Scottish Parliament elections, Reform is on around 17 per cent, above the Tories on around 12 per cent. The SNP is top, followed by Labour. A year ago, it looked likely that Labour could win power in Scotland but a support slump since Sir Keir Starmer took office last summer means the SNP is now well-placed to remain in office. A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: 'Nigel Farage has said he is content with the SNP winning another five years in power and Reform stood multiple pro-independence candidates in the general election, so no, this won't be happening. 'The Scottish Conservatives want to get the SNP out of power, while Reform will gladly help the nationalists.'
