The University of Liverpool increased its intake of state school students by 1.4% between 2002/3 and 2011/12, according to the Social Mobility Commission Report.
The proportion of young new entrants from state schools at the University stands at 87.6%, above a benchmark of 82.6%. However, the institution saw a fall of 3.2% in the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, from 2002/3 to 20011/2.
The report, published this week, has shown an overall fall in the number of students from state schools and disadvantaged backgrounds attending the UK’s top universities.
Dr Paul Redmond, Director of Employability and Educational Opportunities, said: “Our performance in this report is encouraging, but there is still work to be done across the sector to ensure access for all, regardless of background.
“We provide a wide range of support for students and graduates to ensure that we produce highly skilled and confident individuals who are ready for the challenges of the current job market.”
The report, Higher Education: the Fair Access Challenge, which focuses on Russell Group universities, shows that the proportion of young full-time undergraduate entrants to Russell Group universities who are from state schools has decreased, from 75.6% in 2002/03 to 74.6% in 2011/12.
The proportion of young full-time undergraduate entrants to Russell Group universities who are from less advantaged social backgrounds has also decreased, from 19.9% in 2002/03 to 19.0% in 2011/12.
Russell Group universities that increased their percentage of students from state schools, include Liverpool, Edinburgh, Oxford, and Cambridge.
Absolutely committed
Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, said: “Russell Group universities are absolutely committed to ensuring our doors are wide open to talented and able students and spend more than other institutions on bursaries. However, we face real difficulties as we seek to make rapid progress on achieving demanding and quite specific targets.
“There are complex socio-economic problems which mean students from disadvantaged backgrounds all too often fail to achieve the right grades in the right subjects or do not apply to selective universities. Our universities put a lot of effort into trying to help solve these problems but we cannot do so alone.”
