A damning report has claimed that poor advice in state schools prevents pupils from poorer backgrounds from progressing to university.

The Sutton Trust, which works towards improving social mobility, warned that the system has not improved and that "inadequate and inappropriate" guidance is resulting in "swathes" of youngsters not achieving their full potential.

The report claimed that those in state schools and from underprivileged backgrounds who receive little support are facing a "cul-de-sac" of opportunity without the right guidance on their future.

The report found that only half of 16-17 years old found the careers and higher education guidance they received at school to have been helpful and that two-thirds of pupils had not received enough information regarding the link between course choices and future employment implications.

It comes in addition to the "increasingly complex" process of applying to competitive universities, which without solid information about how to choose the right pathway can be extremely difficult.

It was also revealed that many state schools view the provision of higher education guidance as a low priority.

The report proposes that support and guidance should be targeted early, at the end of primary school or the very beginning of secondary education, and that every school should have a lead teacher responsible for the higher education system.

James Turner, Policy Director of the Sutton Trust, said: "The fear is that too many are making ill-informed choices early on, which effectively put them out of the running for certain university choices and careers later in life."

The results come as a blow to the Government, which has made greater university inclusion for pupils a major policy, with the aim of having 50 per cent of pupils going onto higher education by 2010.

Higher Education minister David Lammy said: "We must ensure that the most talented and hard-working children and young people are given every chance to achieve their full potential, whatever their background."

He also noted that the report’s recommendations would be accepted as part of the Government’s ongoing work on education policy.