As year 13 students across the country make the final touches to UCAS statements, too often those in our most deprived schools have fallen at the first hurdle. The problem of access for university is a larger problem than just rising tuition fees.
The higher education white paper published by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills earlier this year, entitled Putting Students at the Heart of the System, is perhaps one of the most controversial and reformist in recent times.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the launch of the document with its proposal for £9,000 tuition fees has prompted a broad range of debate from politicians, policymakers and educators alike.
Worryingly, though, while the current discussions seem to concern the issues of finance and the repayment of loans, very few of the debates seem to have concerned helping students to even get to the process of applying to university in the first place. While academies such as Mossbourne (which was until recently managed by the new chief of Ofsted, Michael Wilshaw) have had great success in ensuring their students from disadvantaged backgrounds gain places at Russell Group universities, the same cannot be said for all of our schools which serve deprived communities.
So many of our students fall at the first hurdle. For many students in our inner-city schools the option of university is bewildering and in some instances terrifying. Unlike many of their peers, they tend not to have parents or siblings who have experience of the rather (unique) university application process.
In addition, so many of these students have deep-seated concerns about whether they will be academically smart enough to cut it at these top universities. Understandably, perhaps, they have grown up in cultures where they have seen few, if any of there peers access top universities. No wonder they might question whether they will belong.
Such trends were noticed in the report of 2009 which stated: ‘even when the young people from disadvantaged backgrounds gain the level of qualifications to go to a selective university, they have a lower propensity to apply.’ (Sutton Trust and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (2009), Applications, Offers and Admissions to Research-Led University). This trend is one all too many teachers in our challenging schools face.
Of course, time will tell to what extent the new fees will impact on access, but the main problem here is ensuring that our bright kids from less affluent backgrounds are mentored and supported through the university admissions process.
An example of how the government may address the issues of low aspirations and limited access for students from low income households is by supporting the extension of the Education Access Programme (HEAPS). The HEAPS programme aims to support bright students in Teach First schools to progress to the most competitive universities and seeks to model the most effective bridge between these universities and urban comprehensive schools. The programme was established six years ago and involves ambassadors from Teach First mentoring two sixth form students over a 17-month period to empower them to make informed decisions with regards to their university progression.
All those who are mentored by the programme are eligible for free school meals, or previously EMA, and/or have no parental history of UK higher education.
The success rate of this process is very high, with 72 per cent of last year’s group went on to higher education institutions, with 61 per cent attending their first choice. In addition four students have been made Oxbridge offers this year.
This programme, alongside others such as the university trips arranged by the Sutton Trust are vital in ensuring that our most disadvantage students get the help they need. In the academy I work in and others across London, these programmes are helping to broaden access and ensure our students get a fair chance in the race. The task now is to ensure this inexpensive model is rolled out across our most deprived schools.
Only then will our top academic institutions begin to represent broader society.
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Geoff Wells is a Teach First English teacher in a south-east London academy, and has previously written about the importance of ethos in schools
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