A GREATER focus should be placed on getting all students into higher education, rather than focusing on encouraging the brightest students from poorer backgrounds to go to top universities, a new report found.

It says that new universities are helping hundreds of thousands of students from working-class families to improve their life chances.

The report, from Million+, which represents new universities across the UK, examined the levels of social mobility created by these institutions.

It found that, while 8% of graduates from these universities come from professional families, 3½ years after graduating, 17% have professional or managerial careers.

In addition, 3½ years after graduation, the salaries of graduates from Million+ institutions are likely to be nearly 15% higher than those of people who have lower qualifications.

The report notes that, because new universities have a more diverse population, including a higher proportion of black, Asian, female and older students, this means they are providing more social mobility opportunities across the board.