White students now a minority at 27 universities amid row over ‘racially discriminatory’ scholarships

White British students were underrepresented at 80 of the UK's 147 universities during the 2024/25 academic year

White British students are now in the minority at 27 universities across the UK, according to fresh analysis of higher education data.

The figures show that during the 2024/25 academic year, white British students made up less than half of the student population at more than two dozen institutions, according to The Telegraph.

Despite the demographic shift, at least 10 of those universities continue to offer scholarships and bursaries exclusively for black, Asian and minority ethnic students.

Some of the race-restricted awards are worth as much as £23,000 a year.

The findings have prompted fresh criticism from campaigners, who argue the schemes discriminate against white students, including those from working-class backgrounds who remain among the least represented groups in higher education.

At University College London, where white students account for 48 per cent of the student population, a scholarship worth £23,000 a year is available to students from black or mixed black backgrounds studying computer science.

The university also offers the Amos Bursary, worth £1,000 annually, to male undergraduates of African or Caribbean heritage.

At Imperial College London, black students can apply for scholarships covering full tuition fees across engineering, medicine, natural sciences and business courses, while white students are not eligible despite making up just 42 per cent of the student body.

Queen Mary University of London offers scholarships in humanities and social sciences that cover tuition fees and provide an £18,062 annual living allowance for students from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.

White students account for around 30 per cent of enrolments at the university.

Professor Eric Kaufmann, a politics professor at the University of Buckingham, criticised the schemes.

"There is no reason to maintain BAME scholarships, which represent racial discrimination, pure and simple," he told The Telegraph.

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"The declining share of white students throws this into even sharper relief, and all racially discriminatory scholarships need to be abolished."

Reform UK's Education spokeswoman Suella Braverman also called for the schemes to end.

She urged universities to "end these racially discriminatory programmes immediately and judge people on their talents, not their skin colour".

The debate comes amid continued scrutiny of the Equality Act 2010, which permits positive action in certain circumstances to tackle disadvantage or under-representation.

The analysis also found white British students are now under-represented at 80 of the UK's 147 universities when compared with 2021 Census figures, up from 65 institutions a decade ago.

Among Russell Group universities, 15 of the 24 members now have a lower proportion of white British students than the national population, compared with 10 in 2014-15.

Oxford and Cambridge have also faced scrutiny, with white working-class students reportedly making up fewer than three per cent of admissions in 2019, while more than 30 per cent of current students are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Similar race-specific scholarship schemes are also offered by the universities of West London, Greenwich, Westminster and Leicester, as well as Goldsmiths, City St George's and SOAS University of London.