A new £650,000 research project has been launched to help more children in care go to university.

London University's Institute of Education is to carry out the five-year project after a pilot study revealed that only one in a 100 care leavers goes to university, compared with one in three school leavers in the general population.

And only three per cent of young people in care obtain five or more GCSEs at grade C or above, compared with 49 per cent of the school population as a whole.

The new research, launched this week, has been initiated by children's charity the Buttle Trust and will be directed by Professor Sonia Jackson of the Institute's Thomas Coram Research Unit.

Professor Jackson, who is also a trustee of the National Children's Bureau and the Who Cares? Trust and Chair of Children in Wales, said: "The low academic attainment of children looked after by local authorities is recognised by the Government as a serious problem.

"These children have the same right to higher education as other young people, so it is vital that we understand what is stopping them from realising their potential.

"Our pilot study makes it clear that attitudes and expectations need to change so that they see university as a realistic goal."

Researchers will work with three groups of care leavers in higher education to establish what support is needed and how it should be provided.

They will analyse the obstacles the young people face from the moment they consider entering university until they get their degrees and evaluate the types of help needed to overcome them.

They will also provide detailed guidance to local authorities on how to meet their statutory duties towards care leavers entering higher education.

The care leavers, who will come from all parts of England, will get grants from the Buttle Trust which helps families in distress especially orphaned or fostered children.

Hugo Perks, director of the Trust, said: "We are pleased that practical steps are being taken to improve the educational opportunities of children in public care.

"It is essential that the complex task of supporting care leavers in moving on to university should be properly understood."

The project has been welcomed by local authority social service departments, university vice-chancellors, the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Health.

It is being supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation, which has donated £100,000, and the Gulbenkian Foundation, which has contributed £10,000 to the research as well as funding the pilot study.

The pilot study, By Degrees: from Care to University, is available from the Buttle Trust, Audley House, 13 Palace Street, London. SW1E 5HS. Tel: 020 7828 7311. Fax: 020 7828 4724. E-mail: buttlehq@buttle.dircon.co.uk