University tuition fee rise puts off poorer boys, study finds

By Jessica Shepherd. Proportion of working-class boys who took places fell by 1.4% between 2010 and 2012, but fee hike had opposite effect on their female peers.The near-trebling of university tuition fees has deterred working-class boys from studying for degrees, but had the opposite effect on working-class girls, an analysis has found. The Independent Commission on Fees – a panel of high-profile figures from business, academia, journalism and the charity sector – looked at the socio-economic backgrounds of hundreds of thousands of 18- and 19-year-olds who took up university places last September, then compared them with those who began in September 2010. Read more...