Elite universities and professions are still the preserve of the middle classes

‘Even when they do enter such elite institutions, working-class students often report feelings of social isolation and microaggressions by their peers and staff.’ Photograph: PA

Gaby Hinsliff asks if we are sliding back to the days when middle-class children mostly went to university and then into elite careers, while working-class ones mostly did not (It’s not about ‘woke’ or foreign students – the truth is that UK universities are starved of cash, 6 February). We’re not sliding back to those days – we never left them behind.

Working-class students comprise around 20% of undergraduates at the 24 Russell Group universities and an even lower percentage of postgraduates, with those who were entitled to free school meals comprising fewer than 4% of undergraduates at these universities. Even when they do enter such elite institutions, working-class students often report feelings of social isolation and class-based microaggressions by their peers and staff.