The official newspaper of Leeds University
www.thegryphon.co.uk Twitter: @TheGryphonLeeds Instagram: @thegryphon Issue 7 14/02/20
LGBT+ History Month in Leeds Features writer Giovana Chiconelli travelled down to Leeds City Museum to see an exhibition to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month Page 8
Image Credit: Ed Barnes
Drop-Out Rates Higher for Minority Students Statistics published by both The Gryphon and the University reveal that certain groups of students face a far greater likelihood of dropping out of university. Megan Ardis Newspaper Associate Between the academic years in 2018/19, statistics reveal that University of Leeds students from various minority groups - including disabled students, BAME students, LGBT+ students, mature students and students who had undertaken BTEC courses before university - dropped out of university at a distinctively higher rate than their peers. Almost a quarter of students who studied a BTEC course rather than A Levels prior to enrolling at the University of Leeds did not continue beyond their first year of study, statistics obtained by The Gryphon can reveal. Students whose only further education qualification was a BTEC diploma had a non-continuation rate of 24.9% last year. These statistics reveal a very large gap in non-continuation rates between students who studied BTEC courses and those who did not. Those with solely BTEC qualifications were almost five times more likely to drop out than those without BTEC qualifications, including those who
studied A Levels or other qualifications who had a non-continuation rate of 5.1% for the same period. Non-continuation rates for Black and Asian students were 9.6% and 10.4% respectively in 2018/19, while during the same period only 5.4% of White students dropped out. In other words, Asian students were 93% more likely to drop out than White students, and Black students were 78% more likely. Students who identified as ‘Other’, which includes mixed-race students, had a noncontinuation rate of 8.1%. This disparity in the University of Leeds’ non-continuation rates mirrors The Gryphon’s findings earlier this year, revealing the large awarding gap between Black and White students at the University of Leeds. Last year, Black students were four times less likely to be awarded a First Class degree than their white counterparts. The Gryphon also revealed a 12.7% gap between the proportions of BAME and White students achieving a 2:1 or First in 2017/2018. Statistics from the University of
Leeds’ Access and Participation Plan for the 2020/21 - 2024/25 period reveal that the non-continuation gap between students from the lowest and highest income backgrounds has grown in recent years. Between the 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic periods, the continuation gap between Q1 (lowest income quintile) and Q5 (highest income quintile) students widened from 1.7% to 3.8%. The five-year average continuation gap between Q1 and Q5 students at the University of Leeds was reported to be 2.5%. LGBTQ+ and disabled students also showed higher non-continuation rates than their non-LGBT and nondisabled peers. In 2018/19, 7.6% of LGBTQ+ students beginning their courses in September 2017 dropped out, compared to 6.2% of their non-LGBTQ+ peers. The University does not have figures for those who identify as transgender.
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Is it time for a Female Doctor? Arts and Culture Editor Alex Gibbon interviews Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan, one of the candidates on the ballot for the Labour Deputy Leadership contest about what she’ll do for students.
Boris Johnson UN Fact-Check Science writer Morwenna Davies goes all the way back to September to fact-check a bizarre speech by the Prime Minister. Pink-eyed terminators? Page 21
Is Sport a place for the LGBTQ+ community? Sports Editor Owen Ellicott looks at the impacts of homophobia in sports Page 24