Our members are committed to engaging with schools and colleges in order to raise attainment and widen participation in higher education. Every University in the UK has partnerships with schools and colleges through which they engage in a wide range of activities.

This page provides information about our work on widening participation and fair access, 14-19 curriculum changes and the National Council for Educational Excellence.

Widening participation and fair access

All UK universities are committed to offering higher education to all who can benefit from it, regardless of background. They work hard to attract applicants from groups which are under-represented in higher education in a wide range of ways. They seek to raise aspirations and increase awareness of higher education through summer schools, campus visits and taster-days, masterclasses, providing student mentors in schools and colleges and hosting study and revision days. Many universities also offer special entry pathways and targeted advice and guidance to make progression to higher education possible for students who might otherwise have missed out.

However, it is widely recognised that the main obstacle to widening access to university is progression and achievement at 16 years. About 90% of students with two or more A-levels go to university, and this does not vary by social class. However, only a quarter of students from lower socio-economic groups reach this level of achievement. In addition, the UK has one of the lowest staying-on rates post-16 in the OECD. Many universities are working hard to support schools and colleges to raise attainment, by providing support to teachers and pupils, enriching the curriculum and providing access to specialist facilities.

Universities UK supports efforts to widen participation by working with government and expert sector groups such as Action on Access, the Office for Fair Access, the National Council for Educational Excellence and other key higher education agencies. We promote the work that universities are doing, and help them to learn from each other through sharing good practice. 

14-19 Curriculum change

Our members are key stakeholders in current changes to the 14-19 curriculum and it is a significant priority for Universities UK. Key areas of reform are:

• the introduction of diplomas;
• changes to GCSEs and A levels with an emphasis on “breadth and stretch”;
• an extended project;
• provision of higher education level modules in schools and colleges;
• generic learning and skills acquisition;
• greater flexibility about what and where to study and when to take qualifications; and
• enhanced information, advice and guidance.

Universities UK is a member of the Higher Education Engagement Project Board. This Board is jointly chaired by the DCSF and the higher education sector and provides a useful forum to raise issues related to higher education and support work to communicate with the sector. We further support this work through the regular information we send to our members detailing progress on the changes to the 14-19 curriculum and alerting members to the implications for universities and opportunities to get involved in the development process.

Further information about the reforms and the impacts on higher education are available on the DCSF website.

National Council for Educational Excellence

The National Council for Educational Excellence is an advisory committee established in June 2007 by the Prime Minister. The Council focuses on how to achieve world-class education performance for all children and young people. It aims to act as a sounding board for ideas about how to do this and includes representation from across different sectors including higher education, businesses and schools and colleges. Each sector has been asked to review current practice and evidence, and make proposals for how the Government could promote more partnerships, and work to champion a selection of partnership activities that work well.

The Higher Education sector representatives are Professor Steve Smith, Vice Chancellor of Exeter University, Professor Les Ebdon, Vice- Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, Professor Alison Richard, Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge. This strand of work is focussing on what more universities can do to support educational excellence from 0 – 19. As with the other strands of the Council’s work the higher education strand will review current practice and evidence, make proposals for how the Government could promote more partnerships, and work to champion a selection of partnership activities that work well.