Not all Scottish universities meet deprived areas targets

The number of pupils from working-class communities in Scotland entering university has hit record levels, according to new figures, writes Andrew Learmonth for The Herald.

There were 5,595 Scots students from the 20% areas considered most deprived according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) – up from 5,515 last year and 3,965 in 2016-17.

However, the report from the Scottish Funding Council also revealed that three of Scotland's universities have failed to meet a target of having 10% of full-time first-degree entrants from the 20% most deprived backgrounds. Just 7.9% of students at the University of Aberdeen were from the most deprived areas, down from 8.6% last year. Their neighbour, Robert Gordon University, also struggled, with 6.2% of students from deprived areas, up from 6.1%. Scotland's Rural College saw numbers drop to 5.1% down from 13.5% last year.
Full report on The Herald site