Teenagers from the most affluent areas saw the biggest drop in places at a Russell Group universities last year, figures published on Thursday have shown. Teenagers from all five groups of postcode areas used by universities to help assess whether candidates are disadvantaged saw a drop in places awarded. However, 18-year-olds from the most affluent areas still dominated Russell Group admissions, winning 40,515 places, down 9.7 per cent on the previous year.