Government expands AimHigher programme

Citation

(2003), "Government expands AimHigher programme", Education + Training, Vol. 45 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2003.00445eab.006

Government expands AimHigher programme

Government expands AimHigher programme

The Government will provide an extra £130 million over the next three years to expand the AimHigher programme, which seeks to increase the proportion of non-traditional students going to university. The existing 91 AimHigher areas will receive £70 million to continue until 2006, and 86 new areas will receive around £60 million to join the programme over the same period.

Speaking at an AimHigher conference in Ealing, Lifelong Learning and Higher Education Minister, Margaret Hodge, said: "It is vital that we increase the proportion of non-traditional students going through university. Failure to do so would not only be an economic folly, but also an ugly scar on the face of our education system and a terrible indictment on British society. This is a shared challenge. The Government must raise standards in primary and secondary schools so that more students get the grades to stay on in school and aim higher. But we must also work with schools, colleges and universities to raise aspirations in families with no tradition of going on to higher education and make them realize that it is a realistic option for them."

The extra money will fund:

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  partnerships between schools, colleges and universities in disadvantaged areas to encourage and support young people to increase attainment, raise aspirations and enable them to apply successfully to university;

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  out-of-school study support programmes, including extra classes, summer schools and mentoring programmes;

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  visits to, and taster programmes at, higher-education institutions; and

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  information, advice and support to young people and their families about higher education, application procedures, choice of institutions, study support and financial matters.