¦ Skip to main content

University students to help school and college pupils aim higher under new £21 Million mentoring scheme

04 April 2008

Thousands of school and college pupils across England are to get a helping hand from university students in exploring, selecting and applying for university courses under a £21million new initiative announced today by John Denham.

The 'Aimhigher Associates' mentoring scheme will see around 5,500 university students recruited to provide long term individual and face-to-face support to more than 21,000 pupils in schools and colleges across the country.

The mentors, to be drawn from higher education institutions up and down England, will offer support and share personal experiences aimed at smoothing the way from school and college to university study.

For the first time, the scheme will support the building of long term relationships between university students and school and college pupils as young as 14, before they take their GCSEs. It is planned that such relationships will develop over time with the mentors on hand to provide support and guidance to pupils as they make important decisions about their education that will affect the rest of their lives.

John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said;

"The Government is committed to both widening participation in Higher Education and promoting access to universities where the competition for entry to courses is most fierce. The Aimhigher Associates scheme will be key to meeting these challenges by raising aspirations and supporting young people with the potential to benefit from higher education.

"This initiative will build on the strong links many universities already have with schools and colleges while offering new opportunities for pupils to take advantage of one-to-one advice from students who have recently been through the process of choosing and applying for a university place themselves.

"We want to unlock the talents of all of our young people. Building long term relationships between our schools and universities is key to making sure that all those approaching school leaving age are able to make informed decisions about their futures and fully understand the opportunities and benefits higher education courses and institutions have to offer."

John Selby, Director of Education and Participation at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which jointly funds the Aimhigher programme and is working with DIUS to develop the Aimhigher Associates initiative, said:

"The Aimhigher programme delivers a broad range of targeted activities to help break down the barriers of disadvantage that can prevent pupils from non-traditional backgrounds from progressing to higher education. This will be a significant new element.

"Aimhigher Associates will receive special training and schools will receive support to carry out this important role. Crucially, the Associates will come from a similar school background to their mentees, putting them in an ideal position to advise their younger counterparts on the opportunities available to them."

It is hoped that by September 2009 around 45 Aimhigher Area partnerships will exist with at least 100 HEIs and 500 schools/colleges involved. This means 5,500 Aimhigher Associates working with 21,600 learner beneficiaries.

As far as possible, mentors will be students that have some experience of the Aimhigher programme having themselves come from a state school or college or a similar background to the pupils they are advising.

Notes to Editors

  1. Originally launched in September 2001, as Excellence Challenge, Aimhigher aims to widen participation in higher education (HE) by raising the awareness, aspirations and attainment of young people from under-represented groups.

    The programme particularly focuses on young people from disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds, some minority ethnic groups and people with disabilities.

    HEIs are key partners in the Aimhigher Programme, which we have agreed to fund until 2011 at least, providing an additional £210 million to support our commitment to increase and widen participation in higher education.
  2. The role of Aimhigher is to:
    • Raise aspirations and motivation to enter HE among young people from under-represented groups, in line with the Government's target that by the year 2010, 50% of those aged between 18 and 30 should have the opportunity to benefit from HE
    • Raise attainment of potential students from under-represented groups so that they gain the academic or vocational qualifications that will enable them to enter HE
    • Raise awareness and understanding of the different progression routes into HE via vocational courses – so that prospective students understand that A-levels are not the only option
    • Offer information, advice and guidance to potential students and their teachers and families
  3. This announcement builds on the work already under way to foster stronger links between schools and universities. In October 2007 John Denham and the Schools Minister, Andrew Adonis launched the Universities and Academies Prospectus which sets out how such joint working can benefit both universities and schools with universities spearheading efforts to raise the aspirations of pupils, teachers and parents, driving up standards and supporting university applications. A copy can be found at http://www.dius.gov.uk/publications/index.html
  4. For further information please contact Adam Smith in the DIUS press office on 020 3300 8929