ABSTRACT
Unravelling factors that account for the apparently intractable problems in widening access to higher education among disadvantaged socioeconomic groups in the UK has preoccupied the national educational press in recent times. Many initial commentaries pointed to the deterrent effects of the changes in funding support for students and the introduction of tuition fees, but more considered analyses have identified a host of interacting factors associated with low participation. Many of these have been set out in the National Audit Office (NAO) report (2002). The NAO study showed that higher education institutions themselves have been inclined to blame low entry rates from non-traditional groups on relatively poor examination performance at A level or equivalent among working class pupils, and have pointed to evidence that working class students who do achieve two A levels are as likely to proceed to higher education as their middle class counterparts.
