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Failure rates will rise unless universities get serious about tailoring support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, a college principal has warned.

Ruth Silver, head of Lewisham College, said getting more people from poor backgrounds into higher education to meet the Government's widening participation target did not mean there would be an equivalent number achieving degrees or other qualifications.

Ms Silver told the Learning and Skills Development Agency's summer conference in London on Wednesday that the only way to ensure that qualifications output matched student input was for institutions to personalise learning and support environments.