Universities have been accused of failing working-class white boys as the number of students from black and ethnic minorities soars.

A drive to increase the number of non-white teenagers in further education has paid off, with figures spiralling 15 per cent in just three years.

But the statistics have fuelled fears that white males have been left behind as the number from that background fell by 7,600 to 590,765.

Universities have been accused of failing working-class white boys as the number of students from that background fell by 7,600 in three years

Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows that BAME – black and minority ethnic – students are now in the majority at more than 20 universities in England.

And nationally, non-white students are vastly over-represented in some subjects. For example, 60 per cent of ophthalmics degrees were awarded to Asian students in the last academic year.

Chris Millward from the Office For Students, said: ‘White British men from disadvantaged backgrounds are among the groups least likely to access higher education.

'We fully expect universities to target white working-class males as part of their work on access and participation.’

Nick Hillman, the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, added: ‘The challenge we must all now grapple with is ensuring that a focus on some disadvantaged groups doesn’t leave others behind. There are many groups that fall behind, including white working-class boys.’

The new figures show that the number of British BAME university undergraduates rose from 377,220 in 2014/15 to nearly 437,000 last year.

A recent report from the National Education Opportunity Network report revealed in the majority of English campuses, less than five per cent of students are from poorer white households

Over the same period, the number of UK white students fell marginally, down by 725 to 1,417,860, but the intake of white males dropped significantly.

Separate figures from Oxford University – obtained following a Freedom of Information request – reveal that, of the entrants from the poorest postcodes in the UK last year, more were from ethnic minorities, 71, than were white, 63.

A recent report from the National Education Opportunity Network report revealed in the majority of English campuses, less than five per cent of students are from poorer white households.

White youngsters in receipt of free school meals were the least likely of any group to study for a degree after those from Traveller families.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said that there is a risk of certain groups feeling as if they’ve been ‘left behind’.