Students from disadvantaged areas are still much less likely to progress to higher education. The challenges have been identified, but how do we go about bridging the social divide? Why do almost 90 per cent of students in Donnybrook go to college but just 16 per cent in Darndale? The reality in Ireland is that going to university can involve crossing some of the deepest ravines of the social divide. Despite “free fees”, we have failed to significantly narrow the participation gap writes Peter McGuire