Fees and loans are a disincentive to 'poor'

The prospect of loan and fee repayments will discourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds, despite the government's drive to improve access, researchers from the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside's policy studies research centre have found.

Researcher John Knowles said: "Educational success in disadvantaged areas is not a currency which can be used to buy into a better future."

His report, which surveyed the attitudes of secondary school pupils in Hull towards higher education, also found that the sums of money required to fund a degree programme were completely out of reach for most.

Fewer than 20 per cent of the pupils surveyed in Hull hoped to enter higher education in future.