Keith says:

"Students are mostly middle class..."

What does this even mean? If you mean their background, every single university has a widening access programme, HEFCE insists they do and it is funded. Students from low income families have access to a range of bursaries. Lack of family money should not be, and is not, a barrier to university entry. Or do you mean their outcomes? People with degrees have access to jobs which you might describe as middle class, but this is really a tautology. They have access to jobs which require learning.

Or is it a deep-rooted anti-intellectualism amongst some communities? We do see these attitudes, parents who are fearful that their children might achieve more than they have. I would not call it a class thing though, but there is a glorification of ignorance, promoted by some of the tabloid press, that you just don't get in mainland Europe. And you most definitely don't get it in Asia or in asian communities in other countries.

Whilst we say that most students are middle class, we are writing off a fair fraction of our potential. Educating our young people is of value to the whole country, not just to those receiving the education.