Young people growing up in care in parts of London are more than four times more likely to go on to university than their peers elsewhere, according to a new analysis.
Between 2006-07 and 2020-21, just 13 per cent of those with experience of the care system progressed to higher education nationwide, the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) found.
But a report by University of Exeter academic Neil Harrison identified “substantial variation” in participation rates across England.
The research aims to correct an “evidence gap”, which has seen analysis of the link between care and higher education focus on the national level and overlook regional patterns.
“This stark disparity should concern all of us,” executive director of the NNECL, Denise Rawls, says in her introduction to the report.
