More students from disadvantaged backgrounds are applying for university than ever – but they still fall short of their richer peers.
New figures from university admission service Ucas show that 18 per cent of pupils on free school meals – a key measure of poverty – applied for a place setting a new record.
The results show they are half as likely to go to university than their better-off peers, whose application rates increased to 37 per cent this year - the highest level ever recorded.
Out of the poorer students more girls than boys applied for university, which is consistent with the trend that more females apply for further education in general.
Separate Ucas data reveals that applications from ethnic minorities are also rising.
Students from a Chinese background are most likely to want to study for a degree, with around 61 per cent submitting an application in 2014.
At the other end of the scale, white teenagers are the least likely to be planning to go university, with less than a third applying this year.
The largest increase was in the Black ethnic group, which rose by 15.4 per cent over the past eight years.