NORTHERN Ireland has the highest number of school leavers going on to attend university of any region in the UK, according to new figures.
Some 34.5 per cent of school leavers in the north go on to study for their degree, compared to the average of 33.3 per cent in England, according to data published by Ucas.
Figures compiled by Ucas relate to 18-year-olds who applied for university entry in autumn this year.
In Wales, 29.4 per cent of 18-year-olds went on to university, while in Scotland this figure was 25.9 per cent.
A breakdown of the data, however, reveals significant regional variations.
While England’s entry rate as a whole sat at around a third of school leavers, in London more than two fifths of 18-year-olds (41.8 per cent) were accepted on to degree courses.
"This means 18-year-olds from London were more likely than 18-year-olds anywhere else in England (and the UK more generally) to be accepted into higher education this year," Ucas said.
Every other English region had entry rates lower than the overall rate for the nation, the Ucas figures show, although in each case, apart from one, the entry rate was over 30 per cent.
The region with the lowest proportion of school leavers going on to university this year was the south west of England at 28.9 per cent.
Clare Marchant, Ucas’s chief executive, said the figures show improvements in the proportion of school leavers going on to university.
"A common theme to emerge is that the entry rate of 18-year-olds to higher education has increased across all parts of the UK.
"This trend is most pronounced in London. There have been significant and much documented improvements to secondary education in the capital," she said.
"Understanding how to replicate this high level of attainment could help drive increases in entry rates elsewhere."
