Biological sex of 10,000 university applicants not known as many now 'prefer not to say'
Figures from admissions body Ucas show almost 5,000 applicants chose each option this year, instead of ticking 'male' or 'female'.
The two new categories for online university applications were introduced a year ago, in a bid to be more inclusive of trans and non-binary students.
Ucas has previously defended the decision, saying it is 'important that institutions know how their students identify.'
However, Professor Alice Sullivan, a sociologist from University College London, said the figures proved vital data was being lost.
She told the Daily Mail: 'The different experiences and choices of girls and boys as they leave school and apply for university are a key determinant of later outcomes, including employment and income.
'The substantial loss of data on sex will lead to a loss of accuracy in research on these questions.
'Replacing clear data collection on sex with a 'gender' variable which confuses sex and gender identity is unjustifiable.
'Sex and gender identity are distinct, and data on each of these should be collected via separate questions. Muddling the two does not provide accurate data on either.'
This year, 4,660 selected 'I use another term', while 4,980 selected 'prefer not to say' – each making up just under 1 per cent of the total number of applicants.
In 2022, when the new system was announced, Professor Sullivan led 70 academics in writing an open letter saying it would lead to an 'erosion of sex-based data' in education that will make it 'impossible to track trends over time'.
Professor Sullivan published a Government-commissioned review in March, which highlighted the harms of failing to collect data on biological sex.
Stephanie Davies-Arai, director at Transgender Trend, said: 'Sex is a key data variable for research, yet this data has been lost for almost 10,000 students because of the nonsense of 'gender identity.'
'Having been taught in school to doubt biological reality, it is hardly surprising that so many university applicants are confused about whether they are male or female.
'How many other young people are equally confused?
'This should be a wake-up call for the Department for Education to get gender identity teaching out of schools.'
The two new categories were first introduced in 2024, when 5,820 ticked 'I use another term' and 4,920 ticked 'prefer not to say'.
Ucas was approached for comment and they confirmed the figures are correct.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economist
a minute ago
- Economist
Fee-asco: why Trump's tariffs have hit South-East Asia so hard
President Trump's sweeping tariffs took effect last week, imposing seemingly arbitrary levies on goods arriving to America from much of the world. They range from 10% on UK-made products to 50% on shipments from Brazil. But one region has been hit particularly hard: South-East Asia. A growing share of US imports are made in the region, which has benefitted from a push by manufacturers to diversify their supply chains away from China. But do Trump's tariffs, and his ill-defined crackdown on 'transshipment', threaten the factory model that has propelled the region's growth? Hosts: Ethan Wu, Alice Fulwood and Mike Bird. Guests: Louise Loo of Oxford Economics; former White House supply-chain expert Peter Harrell; and Malaysia's deputy trade minister Liew Chin Tong.
Times
17 minutes ago
- Times
Tariffs blamed as Britain's exports to US drop to lowest since 2022
UK exports to the United States dropped to a three-year low after President Trump introduced sweeping tariffs on the world economy. The latest trade figures showed the value of British goods exported to the world's largest economy declined by 15 per cent, or £700 million, in June to the lowest since February 2022. Across the second quarter, exports to the US contracted by £4.7 billion after Trump announced a wave of tariffs on goods entering the country from April. The figures do not reflect the impact of the UK-US trade deal, which limits most tariffs on British goods exports to 10 per cent and came into force on June 30. The agreement means the UK is facing an average tariff rate of 9 per cent on US trade, compared with about 1 per cent before April's 'liberation day' announcement. Falling exports to the US partially reflected Trump's import taxes on metals and the car sector. The Office for National Statistics said overall exports of machinery, transport equipment and chemicals fell by £200 million in June, indicating falling automotive sales to the US. The UK-US deal, struck in May, reduced tariffs on most British car exports from 27.5 per cent to 10 per cent and eliminated levies on steel and aluminium. William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 'Implementation of the UK's trade deal with the US in full is now needed to improve prospects, particularly for steel and aluminium goods. The agreement should be a platform to discuss further tariff reform with the US, especially in goods sectors where there is little competition on production.' The UK's overall trade deficit — which measures the difference between exports and imports —widened by £1.7 billion in the second quarter to £9.2 billion. This was due to a larger rise in imports than international sales, the ONS said. Good exports to the European Union rose over the second quarter by £1.5 billion, or 3.6 per cent. The trade deficit reflects the gap in goods trade, where the UK has run a persistent deficit in recent decades. In services, where the UK is a major exporter to the rest of the world, the economy continued to record a surplus, which rose by £4.1 billion to £51.9 billion in the quarter. UK exports to the US surged at the start of the year as American businesses attempted to get ahead of impending tariffs. Net trade boosted the economy by 0.34 per cent in the first quarter and had a marginally positive 0.02 percentage-point push on growth in the second quarter. Anna Titareva, a European economist at UBS, said the economy would be weighed down by rising protectionism in the second half of the year. 'We expect net exports to be the main drag on growth in the coming quarters, with the contribution to GDP growth likely remaining negative in 2026 and 2027 as well,' she said. Almost a third of UK businesses that export to the US have said they have been impacted by US tariffs and are preparing to face higher costs, according to the ONS.
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK university tuition fees could rise again
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is considering allowing universities to raise tuition fees annually in line with inflation to improve their financial stability. This follows a previous announcement that tuition fees, frozen at £9,250 since 2017, would increase in September 2025 based on the Retail Price Index. The proposal addresses concerns about the financial health of universities, with a report indicating 40 per cent of English institutions may face budget deficits this year. A significant factor contributing to universities' financial struggles is a decline in the number of international students. Labour's position on tuition fees has evolved, with Keir Starmer retracting his pledge to abolish them, now seeking a "fairer solution" due to affordability concerns.
