19 October 2009
Pupils from West Kent College, Tonbridge and North West Kent College, Dartford will be given advice and guidance on applying to university this week, as the Aimhigher roadshow – the largest of its kind in Europe – continues its tour of England.
Aimhigher is a national Government-funded campaign designed to reach out to young people with little or no family experience of higher education. It involves mentoring, summer schools, open days and visits to universities.
This week’s roadshow is designed with young people in mind and uses the latest technology, such as DVDs, plasma screens, laptops and interactive voting systems to get its message across and make learning about university a fun experience.
It is hosted by a recent graduate, who can give first hand knowledge of the application procedure and life at university. Throughout the day they are available to answer questions and provide support to anyone keen to apply but unsure where to start. This approach has had an impressive success rate in the past, with feedback from the 2008/9 tour revealing a 39 per cent positive shift in students’ attitudes towards Higher Education following their roadshow experience.
Higher Education Minister David Lammy said:
"The Aimhigher roadshows bring higher education to students’ front doors: showing them the opportunities available and how best to make use of them. This is an important foundation on which to build and is vital in supporting those who need it most.
"We know that over fifty per cent of young people aspire to go to university and I want to make sure as many people as possible are given this chance, whatever their background. We now have record numbers of students taking advantage of record places, but we know there is more to be done, and social mobility remains at the heart of this Government."
Roadshow facilitator Parveen Nawab, originally from London and a graduate of the University of Sussex, explains:
"The aim of the roadshow is to raise aspirations and provide young people with information about Higher Education. Many of the young people I meet are unaware of all the options available to them. The roadshow takes students outside of the classroom environment and provides them with an informative, fast-paced presentation focusing on the different routes into Higher Education and the flexibility that university can offer.
"I include aspects of my personal experience when speaking to the pupils and because I am close to their age they seem to find it easier to speak to me and they aren’t afraid to ask me the questions that they really want answering. Speaking to them on their level reiterates the fact that university can be an option for them all, regardless of their background.
"The high-tech vehicle really impresses the students. They love the bean bags and the environment, which seems to make them feel relaxed and they open up more as a result. It really is a great resource that can positively influence young people’s futures."
This year’s tour is expected to reach more than 700 young people nationwide every day during term time, and will continue to expand and grow over the next two years.
It forms an important part of the wider Aimhigher programme, showing young people the benefits a higher education can bring: including enhanced career opportunities with a wide range of courses, and an average of £100,000 more in earnings over a lifetime.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Jointly funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Aimhigher programme is a national initiative to increase participation in Higher Education by under-represented groups, particularly young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
The Aimhigher programme was originally established as ‘Excellence Challenge’ in 2001 and was then integrated with the widening participation programme Aimhigher: Partnerships for Progression in August 2004. Since then the Aimhigher project has sought to deliver a coherent national outreach programme across the country and funding is secured until 2011.
In 2008-09 the Aimhigher Roadshow visited 607 schools and 171 further education or sixth form colleges, and over 68,431 pupils took part. In addition, 99% of teachers rated the Roadshow as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ in the effectiveness of promoting higher education.
Contact details
For more information, please contact:
Linda Bishopp
01227 782566
linda.bishopp@canterbury.ac.uk
More information about Aimhigher Kent and Medway can be found on our website at www.aimhigherkentandmedway.org
