16 August 2017 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
The cost for students of going to university continue to make the headlines this week, as a new report from the Sutton Trust has found that the number of 11-16 year olds who thought they were likely to go on to Higher Education has continued to decline. The poll of 2,600 young people in academies across England and Wales found that just 74% saw Higher Education in their future, down from a high of 81% in 2013, and 77% last year. Of those young people that thought they were unlikely to go on to HE, 64% cited a financial reason, up from 57% in 2013. There’s a summary article in Public Finance.
In related news, the Universities Minister Jo Johnson used an article in Prospect Magazine to defend the student finance system, calling it ‘fair’ and ‘sustainable’, and saying that it has ‘fulfilled its core aims’. The article comes as A-level results are published and as an announcement from the Department for Education and the SLC confirmed there would be no reversal of the planned increase in interest charges on student loans in England. The interest rate which will increase as planned to 6.1% in the Autumn, to the concern of the IFS.
