Leicester uni is raising higher education aspirations for disadvantaged young people

Elite but not Elitist


The University of Leicester is leading initiatives to raise higher education opportunities for disadvantaged young people in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland.

This new scheme comes under the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s new programme to increase participation in higher education across the country.

UOL is working alongside the University of Northampton, Loughborough University, and De Montfort University as well as local schools and colleges with funding of £60 million per year to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those in ethnic minority groups, progress into higher education.

Professor Jon Scott, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience, said: “The University has a proud reputation as one of the most socially inclusive of all the research-led institutions and the award of this funding recognises the effectiveness of the work we are doing in supporting these students and will allow us to further strengthen our work to support students from different backgrounds in achieving success in higher education.”

Dr Hannah Ordoyno, Widening Participation Manager, said: “This project will enable us to engage those students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds in a sustained programme of activities over the next two years. We believe that our programme of mentoring, intensive residential activities and taster days will highlight the breadth of higher education available to these students in a collaborative and complimentary way.”

This move is a welcome step forward after a possible rise in tuition fees for Universities that meet “high standards”, which could mean that higher education is becoming more elite and unattainable for many young Brits.

This step by the big LEX should be applauded, and will hopefully help the uni live up to its constant “Elite but not Elitist” plug by spreading aspirations around the wider community.