The honest answer was “no”. I had no experience of university, had never visited one, and had little idea of what studying at university actually meant. I knew no one who had attended university other than my teachers. My only insight into varsity life was watching University Challenge on the telly every week, and the contestants, with their gonks and teddy bear mascots, seemed like a bunch of weirdos. He sat me down to explain.
” Today, sadly, that window has been firmly slammed shut. Working class white pupils are far and away the most disadvantaged social group when it comes to access to higher education. Just 16 per cent of white pupils on free school meals enter higher education by the time they are 19. This compares to 72 per cent of ethnic Chinese pupils, 59 per cent of pupils from a Black African background, and 31 per cent from a Black Caribbean background.