Zjan Shirinian MORE teenagers than ever before are choosing to go to university. Latest figures show 720 Barking and Dagenham students chose an undergraduate university course last year. That is more than double the 1997/98 figure, when just 285 university places were s
Zjan Shirinian
MORE teenagers than ever before are choosing to go to university.
Latest figures show 720 Barking and Dagenham students chose an undergraduate university course last year.
That is more than double the 1997/98 figure, when just 285 university places were snapped up by borough students.
In 10 years, the number of Barking students entering higher education rose from 160 to 380, while in Dagenham, 340 teenagers went to university compared to 125 a decade earlier.
The figures have been released by the government after the Conservative Party asked about university demand during a parliamentary debate.
A spokesman for the University of East London, popular with Barking and Dagenham students, said demand for places on its courses had been rising steadily in recent years.
He said it was down to universities being viewed less as something only the wealthy few went to.
Higher education minister David Lammy said: "There has been considerable growth over the past 10 years across the country, but it is particularly encouraging to see the marked growth in some of the most disadvantaged areas.
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