Most Young People Want To Go On To University

Wednesday 22 May 2002

More than two out of three state school pupils aged 11-16 want to go on to higher education after they leave school, according to a survey of over 2,500 pupils carried out by MORI for the Sutton Trust and published today. More than a third (35%) say they are very likely to do so, with another 33% fairly likely. Importantly, only 11% of students appear to have ruled out HE, saying they were unlikely to go into higher education. 17% were unsure.

The detailed findings revealed differences in aspiration according to students' gender, family background, and ethnic origin. Girls were more likely than boys to think they will go into higher education — 73% girls and 64% boys. Pupils from two-parent households were much more likely to think they will go on to higher education than children from single-parent families (72% versus 58%).

Respondents from minority ethnic backgrounds were more certain than white pupils that they were very likely to go on to higher education (41% versus 34%).

Aspiration remained constant across the age range. Students became more certain they wanted to go to HE the older they became, moving from feeling it was fairly likely to very likely.

The survey found that the prospect of getting a better job is the main reason why university is so popular: over four-fifths (86%) of those likely to go on into higher education think a degree would improve their chances of getting a well-paid job. Almost two-thirds of young people (65%) said they needed a degree to qualify for the job they were considering.

Technical details

The survey was carried out between 14th January and 8th March this year. Responses were received from 108 middle and secondary state schools in England and Wales — a response rate of 43%. Fully completed questionnaires were received from 2,670 state school pupils aged 11 — 16, an average of 25 pupils per class.

Topline Results

• 2,670 interviews were conducted among school children aged 11-16 in England and Wales
• Self-completion questionnaires were completed in 108 classroom sessions between 14 January and 8 March 2002
• Data have been weighted by gender, age and region
• Results are based on all respondents, unless otherwise stated
• An asterisk (*) represents a value of less than half a per cent, but not zero
• Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding, or the exclusion of 'don't know / not stated' response categories

Q1 Young people who stay on at school or college until they are 18 can usually apply for a place at university to study for a degree. This is known as "going into higher education".
How likely or unlikely are you to go into higher education when you are old enough?

Q2 Why are you likely to go into higher education?

Base: All very or fairly likely to go into h.e. (1,837)

Q3 Why are you unlikely to go into higher education?

Base: All fairly or very unlikely to go into h.e. (325)

Q4a Which of the following, if any, have been your sources of information about higher education?
Q4b And how useful or useless were these as sources of information about higher education?
Q4c And from which of these sources, if any, would you like to find out more about higher education?