The Government was forced to defend its record on widening participation this week after figures revealed that the number of teenagers from London participating in higher education fell last year, writes Paul Hill.
The Government's figures show that the number of school-leavers entering higher education dipped slightly from 23.9 per cent in 2002 to 23.6 per cent last year across Greater London.
The figures - which show marked variations in different London boroughs - prompted the Liberal Democrats to call for the Government to encourage more young people to consider training and apprenticeships rather than higher education.
The participation rate rose in 12 boroughs between 2002 and 2003, including rises of about 2 per cent in Greenwich, Hackney, Lewisham and Southwark.
But the proportion of school-leavers entering higher education fell in 19 boroughs, dropping 4 per cent in Brent and more than 2 per cent in Kensington and Chelsea.
Between 1996 and 2003, in Barking the proportion has doubled from 6.1 per cent to 12.9 per cent and rose from 9.5 per cent to 15 per cent in Islington.
Over the same period, however, the participation rate in Kensington and Chelsea declined 8 percentage points, in Camden 4.3 points and in Richmond upon Thames 1.5 points.
Overall, school-leaver participation across all boroughs rose from 19.6 per cent to 23.6 per cent between 1996 and 2003.
The figures were revealed in the ministerial answer to a Parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes. He said that the Government should be "less obsessed" with pushing school-leavers towards university.
He said: "We should perhaps be less obsessed about so many people going straight to university and realising that apprenticeships, training or work may be better career options for many of London's teenagers."
But a spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: "Over a longer term dating back to 1997 the percentage of London students going to university has increased by 16 per cent from 20.3 per cent to 23.6 per cent."
Percentage of 18 year olds accepted for entry to HE through UCAS
LEA 1996 2002 2003
Barking
6.1
13.6
12.9
Barnet
30.1
32.3
30.4
Bexley
18.3
20.3
19.8
Brent
23.2
34.2
29.9
Bromley
26.5
33
29.3
Camden
24.5
20.3
20.2
City of London *
-
-
-
Croydon
23.2
24.8
25.3
Ealing
21.8
29.4
.7
Enfield
23.5
30.9
30.2
Greenwich
13
14.3
16.4
Hackney
8.1
12.2
12.9
Hammersmith and Fulham
21.4
19.6
21
Haringey
15.9
20.4
21.7
Harrow
32.3
39.4
41.5
Havering
16.5
15.5
16.8
Hillingdon
19.8
25.3
Hounslow
21.5
.4
.2
Islington
9.5
16.1
15
Kensington and Chelsea
26
19.9
17.5
Kingston Upon Thames
.5
32.6
30
Lambeth
12.8
17
16.3
Lewisham
14.5
16.7
18.6
Merton
23.6
26.4
25
Newham
11.6
19.2
20.1
Redbridge
25.8
34.9
34.7
Richmond Upon Thames
31.8
30.3
30.7
Southwark
10.3
15.7
18.3
Sutton
24.7
30.6
29.4
Tower Hamlets
10.6
14.6
14.8
Waltham Forest
14.4
21.6
22.8
Wandsworth
15.7
23.6
23.4
Westminster
13.9
17
14.5
Total Greater London
19.6
23.9
23.6
* The effect of year-on-year fluctuations on a small population mean this method of calculating participation rates is unreliable for the City of London.