§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what is her estimate of the annual number of students whose applications to take courses at colleges of higher education are refused.
§ Mr. BoswellHigher education colleges received some 162,000 applications for entry to full-time undergraduate courses by the polytechnics central admissions system during the 1992–93 applications cycle. On the broad assumption that each applicant made on average 3.2 applications, this is equivalent to some 51,000 total applicants. Some 32,000 students were admitted to the relevant courses in the academic year 1993–94. This suggests that an estimated 19,000 or 37 per cent. of applicants may have gained entry elsewhere, withdrawn from the system, deferred entry or been refused places. These figures include applicants who will not have been considered suitable for higher education.