§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the current ratio of school leavers to the numbers entering higher education. [75024]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisInformation on the number of school leavers who entered higher education directly is not available centrally. In some cases, progression to HE will be direct from FE or tertiary college, and some students will enter after a year abroad or other sabbatical. The entry rate of young people to HE is measured by the Age Participation Index (API) which measures the chance of a young person entering full-time higher education before they are 21. In 1998–99 the API was in the range 30–32 per cent.