Census 2021, full time students (aged 16 and over)

Key points

• On Census Day 2021 there were 78,605 full-time students aged 16 or over in the Lancashire-12 area, 7.8% of the 16 and over population
• 90.7% of persons aged 16 and 17 and 41.4% of persons aged 18 to 24 were full-time students
• In the three districts where there are major universities, Lancaster, Preston and West Lancashire, there were the highest numbers of students aged 16 and over, the highest numbers of students aged 18 to 24, the highest percentages of persons aged 16 and over who were students and the highest percentages of persons aged 18 to 24 who were students
• Within the Lancashire-14 area Blackburn with Darwen had the highest number of students aged 16 and 17 (4,244) and the highest percentage of persons aged 16 and 17 who were students at 93.0%, equal with England
• 21.1% of full-time students in the Lancashire-12 area were classed as economically active and in employment. The figure rose to 25.7% when counting only students aged 18 to 24.
• Over 40% of students aged 18 to 24 in Chorley and South Ribble were in employment
• In Lancaster the rates for economically inactive students were over 77% for all 16+ students and for students aged 18 to 24
• Apart from in Lancaster all of the East Lancashire authorities had student economic inactivity rates of over 70% and all the rest over 60% and under 70% for students aged 16 and over
• 63.5% of economically active students in the Lancashire-12 area worked part-time

According to Census 2021, full-time students and school children aged 16 or over accounted for 78,605 persons in the Lancashire-12 area, equating to 7.8% of the usual resident population aged 16 or over. This was very slightly higher than the national average of 7.7% for England and the North West region. However the district rates for the 16–17 year olds who were students at school or college were mostly lower than the national average. The percentages of those residents aged 18-24 who were full-time students varied widely across the districts with rates of over 50% found in Lancaster, West Lancashire and Preston where major universities are located but the Lancashire-14 rate was very close to the regional and England rate of 39.1%. Because those three universities are in the Lancashire-12 area the county rate was a little higher at 41.4% for 18-24 year olds. Full-time student numbers in the Lancashire-12 area rose by 9.2% from the 2011 figure.

Despite being classed as full-time students a significant proportion were also classed as being economically active. 21.1% of students in the Lancashire-12 area were in employment but in Chorley and South Ribble the rates were over 27%. The rate for students in employment were generally much higher for the specific 18-24 age range, but in Lancaster the rates for economically inactive students were over 77% for this age range and for all 16+ students.

In the Lancashire-12 area 63.5% of economically active full-time students worked part time (30 hours or less per week). This rate is a little higher than in England as a whole (58.2%). The Lancashire-12 average for students working full-time was 12%.

F

Table 1: Full-time students aged 16 and over (table scrolls left to right)

Source: ONS Census 2021, Ready made table RM206

Students aged 16 to 17

We can see from table 1 that by far the greater majority of 16 to 17 year olds are full-time students. In Blackpool the rate is 88%, but this is the sixth lowest rank for lower-tier authorities in England and Wales. In Lancashire only Blackburn with Darwen has a rate equal to England (93.0%). All other districts have rates slightly below. Blackburn with Darwen also had the highest number locally of students aged 16 and 17 (4,244). The highest rates nationally are in London boroughs with the City of London having all 72 of its 16-17 year olds being full-time students.

Students aged 18 to 24

In the Lancashire-12 area 41.4% of residents aged 18 to 24 are classed as full-time students. The rates for Lancashire-14, the North West and England are close together around 39.1%. In the three districts where major universities are located there are much higher proportions of residents in this age range who are students. Many of these will have moved from other parts of the country or overseas to study and for the purpose of the census are treated as residing at their term-time addresses. The Covid-19 pandemic may have affected the movement or location of some on Census Day (March 21st 2021) but because of the rules and exemptions it is difficult to quantify the impact. The rates for Lancaster, West Lancashire and Preston were 64.3%, 57.5% and 52.8% respectively.

Economic activity status of full-time students

21.1% of full-time students in the Lancashire-12 area were classed as economically active and in employment. The figure rose to 25.7% when counting only students aged 18 to 24. Within the Lancashire-14 area only four authorities had lower rates for economically active students aged 16 and over in employment than England (18.1%). These were Lancaster (16%) and the East Lancashire authorities of Blackburn with Darwen (16.1%), Pendle (17.2%) and Burnley (17.9%). Over 40% of students aged 18 to 24 in Chorley and South Ribble were in employment while both districts had rates of over 27% for students aged 16 and over.

Table 2: Economically active (EA) and inactive full-time students aged 16 and over (table scrolls left to right)

Source: ONS Custom table builder

The highest rate for economic inactivity in students in Lancashire was found in Lancaster where 77.7% of all students aged 16 and over were economically inactive. The Lancashire average was 71.0%. With the exception of Lancaster there seems to be a split between districts in East Lancashire (including Blackburn with Darwen), which have economic inactivity rates of over 70%, and the others in the west whose rates are lower but are still above 60%.

For economic inactivity amongst students aged 18 to 24 the Lancashire-12 average was 66.2% but rates were as low as 50.8% in South Ribble and 51.1% in Chorley. The rate in Lancaster (77.5%) was only 0.2 percentage points lower than the rate for all students aged 16 and over.

Table 2 does not show rates for those students who are economically active but unemployed. This rate is quite small in all areas and is the difference between 100% and the sum of the rates which do appear. In Preston the rate is 10.9% for 18 to 24 year olds but in all other areas shown it is under 10% with the Lancashire-12 area having a rate of 8.1% and Ribble Valley being lowest at 5.4%.

Hours worked by economically active students

As we would expect full-time students to be concentrating on their coursework it is of interest how many hours of paid work they can also fit in. The Ready-made Census table RM208 allows us to carry out this analysis. In the Lancashire-12 area 63.5% of economically active full-time students worked part time (30 hours or less per week). This rate is a little higher than in England as a whole (58.2%). Nowhere in the Lancashire-14 area was a lower rate than that of England seen, but in Hyndburn it was the same. in Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool the rate for part-time workers was 58.3% and was highest in Chorley (66.4%), Ribble Valley (66.3%) and South Ribble (66.2%). Over half of the economically active students in Lancaster and Ribble Valley worked 15 hours or less. In the Lancashire-12 area this rate was 42.9%. Under 11% of full-times students in the three districts having universities also worked full-time but in Blackpool, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley the rate was over 17%. The Lancashire-12 average for students working full-time was 12% but the England average was 15%. Only 1% of Lancashire-12 students claimed to be also working 49 hours or more per week. The England figure for this was 1.6%.

Significance of the age-bands in tables 1 and 2

We would expect most 16 and 17 year olds to be at school, studying for GCSE or Advanced level or equivalent qualifications, and the figures in table 1 bear this out. Ages 18 to 24 are when most students complete their education at A level, first degree and perhaps postgraduate qualification or equivalents.

Page created December 2024