Student letters campaign aims to help disadvantaged teens into university

ALMOST 10,000 school pupils living in deprived areas will receive letters from students encouraging them to consider going to university.

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Students at King's College London who come from disadvantaged backgrounds will write to teenagers living in similar circumstances to share their stories and challenge perceptions that university is only for the privileged, the Department for Education (DfE) has announced.

The letters will target at least 9,200 high-achieving pupils aged 16 to 18 who are attending schools and colleges which have the lowest progression rates to university.

The progression rate to higher education for disadvantaged pupils in the latest data was 31.2 per cent, compared with more than half (50.5 per cent) of non-disadvantaged pupils.