ABSTRACT
Our research has taken place during a period of policy-driven widening participation in higher education and at a time when, in both the UK and globally, there has been concern about breaking down the exclusivity of university education (McDonough and Fann 2007). In spite of the relative success in increasing participation in higher education generally, concerns remain about the social class gap in entry to higher education (HEFCE 2005b); in 2005 UCAS reported that 24.72 per cent of those accepted at university were from the four lowest socio-economic groups and in 2004 it was 25.61 per cent (Shepherd 2007) indicating a decline. Also whilst universities are reporting success in widening participation there exists an apparent polarisation of types of university attracting working-class and minority ethnic students (Sutton Trust 2000, 2004, 2007). There is also considerable concern with student retention (HEFCE 2005) and the fact that the universities with the most success at widening participation also have the highest drop-out rates (HEFCE 2005) suggesting a causal relationship.
