Young people in food poverty struggling to afford university, warns Sutton Trust

More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of young people whose family have relied on a food bank over the last year said they were unlikely to apply or expect to apply to university, compared to less than half (48 per cent) of those who had not relied on such support.

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Among those not planning to apply to university almost two in five (39 per cent) of those from families that have used a food bank cited the cost of attending higher education as a barrier. This is 20 percentage points higher than among those not intending to apply for university for cost reasons whose family had not used a food bank.

The findings have emerged from the Sutton Trust and University College London's (UCL) Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study, which is tracking young people following the pandemic.

This also found that 34 per cent of all A-level students are considering living at home if they get their preferred university course when exam results are published this month. A fifth of this group said they could not afford to live away.

Among all young people surveyed just 48 per cent said student loans were “a good investment” in their future.

Affordability challenges for young people come as student maintenance support in England rises by less than three per cent this September, “well below inflation, putting further pressure on student finances”, said the Sutton Trust.

“It is concerning that young people, more likely to be from less well-off backgrounds, are curbing their educational choices because of worries about the cost,” said UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities deputy director Jake Anders, the COSMO study’s principal investigator.

“Student support has not kept up with the rising cost of living, this should be urgently addressed so we do not close down opportunities, especially to those who are already likely to have fewer.”

Sutton Trust chair Peter Lampl added: “These research findings highlight the difficult decisions many young people face as they weigh up their future. Young people from disadvantaged families are less likely to apply to university and are less likely to live away from home if they do apply, limiting their university choice.”