Universities told to work with poor children

The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) said yesterday that any university which wants to charge above minimum tuition fees will have to show how it plans to work with primary schools in communities where few students go to university.

The watchdog is also calling for universities to work with adults who have the potential to become mature students.

OFFA has to approve university plans to improve access to higher education before each institution can set its fees above the minimum level – which is currently £6,000-a-year.

The new requirements will come into effect in for university access arrangements for the 2014/15 academic year.

Professor Les Ebdon, director of fair access to higher education, said he wanted to see university outreach work start at a younger age. He said: “Sustained, well-targeted outreach such as summer schools, masterclasses and mentoring can be very effective and we want to see more of it.

“Often, people in schools and communities where very few progress to higher education simply don’t consider university as an option, or don’t get the right advice and guidance on GCSE and post-16 options, even though they have the potential to succeed. OFFA has long emphasised the important contribution that universities and colleges can make in tackling this by raising aspirations and also improving attainment.

“Many universities already run excellent outreach programmes. However, these tend to focus on young people aged 14-19, and, while work with teenagers is very useful and should continue, we are keen to see more long-term schemes that start at a younger age and persist through the school career.”

OFFA is also calling on universities to evaluate its own schemes to make sure the outreach work it does is effective.