A ROCKETING number of university students enrolling from the region’s poorest areas will be “put at risk” by funding cuts and rising fees – Merseyside education chiefs warned last night.

The warning came as official figures showed the number of students from less affluent parts of Merseyside taking the university plunge has rocketed.

Areas of Merseyside enjoying the highest acceleration in the number of under 21-year-olds enrolling at university between 1997 and 2008 include Walton which has seen a 208.7% rise with student numbers spiralling from 115 to 335.

Hot on its heels is Knowsley South which has enjoyed a 183.8% improvement with university students shooting up from 185 to 525.

Rises in more affluent pockets of Merseyside during the same period have not been as dramatic – although, in most cases, the number of university students in these areas is higher than their poorer neighbours.

This includes Wirral West which saw a 40.2% rise with students enrolling at university soaring from 410 to 575.

The data comes as university tuition fees are set to be trebled to £9,000 from 2012 and the Educational Maintenance Allowance for poorer sixth form students is axed.

The Aimhigher scheme, which includes summer schools and taster sessions at universities to encourage less advantaged pupils to go to university, is also being scrapped this summer.