First access faculty

Plymouth University has increased its reach in the Southwest with the launch of a new faculty dedicated to widening participation.

Plymouth, already the biggest university in the Southwest, formally launched the faculty, the first of its kind in the UK, this week.

It is dedicated to building partnerships with local further education colleges that will deliver its higher education courses.

Somerset, one of the few counties in Britain without a dedicated higher education institution, will be one of the key places to benefit with plans for a higher education campus at the Somerset College of Arts and Technology in Taunton.