ABSTRACT
University entrance does not simply happen as part of the natural educational progression of teenagers. Not all able students will go onto attend institutions of higher education, nor will they necessarily enter those institutions for which they are intellectually qualified. Poverty impacts negatively on opportunity and development. It may defeat knowledge, ambition and achievement. Poor people are not the same as rich people, but with simply less money. In 1999, the Education and Employment Committee of the House of Commons concluded:
The UK is rich. The principal issue is that of distribution of the financial resources. Average income rose in the 1980s by 23% in real terms, but for the lowest tenth of the population it fell by 6%. The proportion of citizens living in poverty, defined as 60% of the average income, rose to twice the level of 30 years ago.23 In 1992, government figures revealed that, in 1979, the poorest fifth of the population had just under 10% of post-tax income and the richest fifth had 37%. By 1989, the poorest fifth had 7%, whilst the richest fifth had moved up to 43%.24
