One in four transgender university applicants have been in care system

Higher Education Policy Institute found 24% had been in local authority care

One in four transgender university applicants have been in the care system, compared with just one in 20 of their peers, a new study shows.

The Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) found 24 per cent of trans youngsters applying to courses have been in local authority care, while only four per cent of other applicants have.

In addition, trans applicants were more likely to come from deprived areas than their peers - 18 per cent compared with 13 per cent.

But while disadvantage appears to be over-represented among trans students, so too does privilege.

Trans applicants were more likely to have been to private school - 16 per cent compared with 9 per cent of non-trans applicants.

The report also found nearly half of trans applicants - 47 per cent - declare a disability, compared with 12 per cent of other applicants.

And more than a fifth - 22 per cent - declare a mental health condition, compared with three per cent generally.

Hepi estimates that nearly 39 per cent of trans people are of traditional university age - 18 to 21 - for at least some of the time they are transitioning.

It found trans students apply to higher education with lower attainment levels than students who are not trans. They also have consistently lower-than-average A-level grades and are less likely to apply for Oxbridge universities.

Trans students earn on average £2,000 less 15 months after graduation than their non-trans peers and are less likely to be in professional roles.

And the report found trans students are less likely to live at home during their studies - 24 per cent compared with 33 per cent generally.

This may be partly down to 46 per cent of trans young people being estranged from at least one relative, previous data has shown.

The report's authors, Josh Freeman and Rose Stephenson, called for more university support for trans students who may also have other challenges.

They said: 'Students who are estranged or care-experienced may need additional support through university, including through financial support and with year-round housing provision.

'Ensuring that trans students can access this support at university is important to their success.'

Yesterday, campaigners suggested the challenges associated with being from extreme ends of the societal spectrum may be contributing to some youngsters' feelings of gender dysphoria.

Stephanie Davies-Arai, of Transgender Trend, said: 'For students away from their family and friendship groups for the first time, finding a way to fit in is the priority.

'As so many universities across the UK now elevate and celebrate all things 'trans', adopting a trans identity may the easiest way for vulnerable students to do this.'

A spokesman for Bayswater, a support group for parents of children who identify as trans, said: 'Parents of all vulnerable teenagers - whatever their socioeconomic background - are concerned that universities continue to promote an ideological rather than evidence-led approach to trans identity.

'Many universities signpost to gender clinics, which ignore underlying conditions such as autism, ADHD, trauma and eating disorders when agreeing with a patient's self-diagnosis.'

The report draws together existing data, new surveys and interviews with students.