Only 5% of medical students are working class, analysis finds

The proportion of medical school entrants from working class backgrounds has doubled over the past decade but is still only 5%.

- Tobi Thomas

Analysis by the Sutton Trust and UCL of almost 94,000 applicants to UK medical schools between 2012 and 2022 - almost half of all UK medical applicants - found that although the proportion of medical students from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds had doubled since 2012, they made up only 5% of entrants in 2021.

In comparison, 75% of medical school entrants were from a higher socio-economic background. Socio-economic status was calculated by using the five-level National Statistics Socio-economic Classification groupings of parental occupation.