less education for poor

Pupils on free school meals are 55 times less likely to go to Cambridge or Oxford than those from private schools, the Sutton Trust has said. The percentages of pupils who qualified for free lunches when they were at school - a measure of deprivation - attending each of England's universities was 0.8% at both Oxford and Cambridge. 40% of their students came from independent schools.

The figures also show a significant gap between the most privileged pupils and the rest.

"The prospects for less privileged students getting into top universities will get more difficult..." said Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust.