Introduction: Education in Demand?

Now over 30 per cent of young people embark on some kind of higher education and over half of university students are women. Opportunities for adults to return to study have increased and many universities make provision for part-time study and other flexible forms of delivery. However, participation rates of those from working class backgrounds and some ethnic groups remains very low. Currently about 70 per cent of young people from professional families go on to university as compared to 13 per cent from unskilled manual backgrounds (Social Trends, 2000).