SCHOOL leavers in West Worcestershire are significantly more likely to attend university than those in Worcester, an independent report has found.

It demonstrates that less than a third of 18 and 19-year-olds in the city have entered higher education - compared to 42 per cent in West Worcestershire.

Only 28 per cent of youngsters in Worcester have gone on to university, according to the five-year study by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Mid-Worcestershire also has a higher rate of university attendance than the city, with 36 per cent.

There is a 40 per cent university attendance rate in Bromsgrove, 38 per cent in Leominster, 29 per cent in Wyre Forest and 28 per cent in Hereford.

Only Redditch, with 20 per cent, has fewer youngsters entering higher education than Worcester out of all the Parliamentary constituencies in the county.

The authors of the report said it showed that youngsters who grow up in more affluent areas are more likely to continue studying after sixth form.

Expensive areas of London were top of the list, with 69 per cent of Kensington and Chelsea youngsters attending university and 65 per cent in Westminster and the City.

The study looked at higher education participation rates among 18 and 19-year-olds in every Parliamentary constituency in the country between 1994 and 2000.

Sir Howard Newby, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council, said: "This report highlights just how entrenched the divisions are between advantaged and disadvantaged areas.

"There is a deep division in the chances of young people going to university according to where they live.

"It reveals the extent of the challenge facing society and the whole educational system if we are to make real inroads in improving participation rates for young people from poorer backgrounds so that a greater proportion can benefit from higher education."