Higher education participation rates have fallen among young people formerly eligible for free school meals (FSM), new data shows.
The rate has fallen “slightly” over each of the past three years, with the latest findings revealing 28.6 per cent of those on free school meals progressed to higher education by age 19 in 2024-25. This is down from 28.9 per cent the year prior.
The data is based on the cohort of young people who were 15 in 2020-21 and maps their participation in higher education by age 19.
Released by the Department for Education (DfE), the annual statistics demonstrate an overall dip in higher education participation rates among all students, from 46 per cent in 2023-24 to 44.7 per cent in 2024-25. Nonetheless, the rate remains higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 44.5 per cent.
When monitoring rates according to FSM eligibility, the numbers show a smaller proportion of FSM-eligible young people made it into higher-tariff institutions by 2024-25.
