Aim Higher

QK Aim Higher Co-ordinators Emma Stevens and Sharon Worthington share with colleagues the responsibility of raising the aspirations of students, particularly those from families with no tradition of higher education. They are in regular contact with Gill Cumberland, the Aim Higher co-ordination at Excellence in Cities for Westminster, and Suneeta Nathan, the Aim Higher Raising Awareness Project Co-ordinator. QK Directors of Learning and Heads of Faculty are regularly informed of initiatives and opportunities for students.

Offering Information

Advice and guidance is shared with individual students and teachers and presented at meetings, year assemblies. Students are shown windows of opportunity, previously thought unattainable i.e. the possibility of bursaries available at Westminster University, the chance to participate in a Summer School or class at a college. Students are closely monitored across the school. Underachieving students with potential are mentored and consulted.

Activities

A wide range of activities are arranged to engage and motivate students who have university potential, but are under achieving, undecided or lacking in confidence. These take place mostly within London.

  • Campus visits (including Oxford & Cambridge)
  • Residential & non-residential Summer Schools
  • Master classes & taster days
  • Mentoring programmes
  • Online & other information sources

The Completion of Students Surveys

  • To take note of their particular interests & aspirations.
  • Talks from university & college lecturers & undergraduates.
  • Video conferences (Science, Globalisation)
  • Visits by inspirational figures, such as Patrick Clarke from EdF Energy and author of Made in Britain (about the need for role models). His company actively seeks future engineers.

Public Speaking

  • Training by the Jack Petchey Foundation
  • Debating for Year 9's at Westminster University
  • Eight Year 9 students showcase their debating skills at the Central London Partnership Conference on the 14th June at the University of Westminster. They debated "Is Uni worth it?"

Aim Higher is a national programme run by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) with support from the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIVS). It aims to widen participation in higher education (HE) by raising the awareness, aspirations and attainment of young people from under-represented groups.