More young need apply

The proportion of young people in England applying for higher education is failing to keep pace with demographic trends, according to research released by David Rendel, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on higher education. According to the latest figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, the number of 18 to 20-year-olds applying to go to university increased by 2.8 per cent in 2004 compared with 2002. But the Government Actuarial Department projects that the total number in this age group has increased overall by 6.1 per cent.