13.01.2004
An important new project is working with 14 to 16 year olds to change preconceptions about going to university.
Sussex Highway - Aim Higher: Partnerships for Progression (P4P) aims to identify and tackle reservations about going to university through a programme of course taster sessions, campus visits and mentoring. The University of Brighton as the lead institution for Sussex Highway is working in partnership with University of Sussex, University College Chichester and Further Education colleges. Aspiration levels are raised pre-GCSE, bridging the gap between leaving school and going to university.
"I think it is a brilliant project for people like me who want to go to university but don’t know much about it" said a participating pupil.
"The project is so positive and really does open up doors for our kids…to experience life beyond school…this is an amazing opportunity" (teacher).
About 70 able students whose parents have not been to university have been selected to take part from secondary schools in Brighton and Hove, Hastings and Rye, Crawley, Eastbourne, Newhaven, Peacehaven, Bognor Regis, Chichester, Worthing & Littlehampton.
The project has a direct link with the new University Centre Hastings (UCH) in aiming to provide a substantial increase in the number of pupils progressing through sixth form and further education on to university. UCH is a SEEDA-funded project where the University of Brighton is the lead university partner. It offers higher education courses delivered by the University of Brighton, Hastings Colleges of Arts and Technology, The University of Sussex, The Open University and The University of Westminster. Courses provide skills needed by employers, giving a much-needed boost to the local economy.
Aim Higher: Partnerships for Progression (P4P) exists due to funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and is an extension of the Sussex Coastal Highway Project, which has worked with pupils from secondary schools in Sussex over the last three years.
University Centre Hastings (UCH) was established in September 2003 to accelerate higher education in Hastings. This is a core strategy in the Hastings & Bexhill Task Force’s programme for local economic regeneration. The University of Brighton, Hastings College of Arts and Technology, the University of Sussex, the Open University and the University of Westminster are delivering degree courses at UCH. UCH courses are commercially focused and designed in partnership with employers. Those currently on offer include computing, business management, accounting, business law and a range of adult education and Open University programmes. Other universities from the south-east are in discussions to join UCH over next 12 months and introduce additional subjects to the curriculum as relevant to local needs.
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
