Teenagers from wealthy backgrounds are still around 10 times more likely to get into top universities than those from poorer homes.

Efforts to revive social mobility in Britain by widening access to the best universities have stalled, research indicates.

The report from an independent commission set up to examine the impact of higher university fees also reveals that the gender gap in university admissions is growing with you men from disadvantaged backgrounds the least likely to obtain a university place.

Will Hutton, who chairs the Independent Commission on Fees, said the findings showed “serious gaps in access to university remain”.

“Young men from disadvantaged backgrounds are particularly badly affected and remain under-represented in applications to all universities,” he said.

The commission was set up by education charity the Sutton Trust to monitor the impact of increased university fees. In addition to Mr Hutton, principal of Hertford College, Oxford, its members include Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, and Libby Purves, the writer and radio broadcaster.

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