The Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students, John Blake, spoke at an Impetus event today and called on universities to work much more closely with disadvantaged young people and schools to improve exam results. Below is The Access Project’s statement on this speech:  

We welcome the Office for Students’ call on universities to work closer with disadvantaged young people and schools to help them improve exam results. We work with seven university partners – who play an enormous role in helping our young people to make the grades they need to secure places at top universities.

We are also glad to see that the Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students, John Blake, raised the important issue of successful transition to university.

Transition to university

We recognise that getting disadvantaged young people into top universities is only the first step. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to face challenges when they get to university. Non-continuation rates among disadvantaged students are higher than those of their more affluent peers. In addition, 73% of students from disadvantaged households graduated with a 2:1 or a first class degree in comparison to 83% from more advantaged households.

This is why we have launched our transition programme – which aims to:

1. Prepare students for the academic experience of university
2. Provide students with the skills to manage their time effectively to make the most of the university experience
3. Prepare students to make the most of university services
4. Align the university experience with the student’s future goals
5. Educate students on different sources of income, how to manage their finances and where to seek to support so they are more financially comfortable.