Higher Education: West Midlands

(asked on 28th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils in England started higher education by age 19 in 2018-19 in constituencies in the West Midlands Combined Authority Area by (a) ethnicity and (b) free school meals eligibility.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 8th February 2021

The figures below relate to the 7 constituent authorities[1] of the West Midlands Combined Authority Area (WMCA).

The table below shows the number and proportion of pupils who were in state-funded schools and special schools at age 15 in the WMCA who progressed to higher education (HE) by age 19 in the 2018/19 academic year by free school meal status.

Progression to HE by age 19 by the 2018/19 academic year by free school meal status

Pupils attending state-funded schools in WMCA at age 15

Free school meal status

HE students

All pupils

HE progression rate

All other pupils

11,828

24,990

47.3%

Free school meals[2]

2,176

6,968

31.2%

All

14,004

31,958

43.8%

Source: Matched data from the Department for Education's National Pupil Database, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record and the Education and Skills Funding Agency's Individual Learning Record.

The table below shows the number and proportion of pupils who were in state-funded schools and special schools at age 15 in the WMCA who progressed to HE by age 19 in the 2018/19 academic year by ethnic group.

Progression to HE by age 19 by the 2018/19 academic year by ethnic group

Pupils attending state-funded schools in WMCA at age 15

Ethnic group

HE students

All pupils

HE progression rate

White

6,613

18,730

35.3%

White – British

6,183

17,661

35.0%

White – Irish

86

174

49.4%

Traveller of Irish Heritage

0

5

0.0%

Gypsy / Roma

4

71

5.6%

Any Other White Background

340

819

41.5%

Mixed

810

2,015

40.2%

White and Black Caribbean

332

968

34.3%

White and Black African

46

105

43.8%

White and Asian

190

412

46.1%

Any Other Mixed Background

242

530

45.7%

Asian

4,714

7,687

61.3%

Indian

1,605

2,209

72.7%

Pakistani

2,193

4,053

54.1%

Bangladeshi

606

929

65.2%

Any Other Asian Background

310

496

62.5%

Black

1,295

2,446

52.9%

Black Caribbean

442

1,025

43.1%

Black – African

734

1,178

62.3%

Any Other Black Background

119

243

49.0%

Chinese

65

83

78.3%

Any Other Ethnic Group

363

639

56.8%

Unknown

144

358

40.2%

All

14,004

31,958

43.8%

Source: Matched data from the Department for Education's National Pupil Database, HESA Student Record and the Education and Skills Funding Agency's Individual Learning Record.

[1] The constituent authorities are: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton

[2] Eligible for and claiming free school meals

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