Target widening participation efforts at under-16s, report urges

Universities must shift their approach to widening participation from a “cure” to a “prevention” model to avoid failing disadvantaged students, a new report has warned.

The paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) said that access to higher education is heavily shaped by “structural inequality”, with attainment gaps emerging long before students apply to university.

Instead of relying on contextual admissions and late-stage interventions, it advocates for intensive, sustained outreach strategies, such as campus visits, mentoring or summer schools, targeted at an earlier point in a potential student’s life.

The report said that by the age of 16 some students will have already written off university as “not for them”, some will have selected the wrong subjects for the pathways they wanted, or fallen behind more advantaged classmates.

The authors call for a shift from a “cure to a prevention model”, with universities engaging pupils much earlier in their school careers and their analysis of the Higher Education Access Tracker (HEAT), Uni Connect data, and other sources suggests this can have significant impacts.

The report found that students who take part in sustained programmes are 29 per cent more likely to enter higher education than similar peers who receive little or no outreach, and 19 per cent more likely to attend a high-tariff institution.

The effect is even stronger for disadvantaged pupils, with those eligible for free school meals found to be up to 38 per cent more likely to progress than peers who received minimal engagement.

Charlotte Gleed, a former Hepi intern and co-author of the paper, said year 11 or sixth form is too late for young people from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds to have their first contact with high-tariff universities.

“Planting the seed of possibility early is crucial to ensure these young people stand the best chance of making an informed but also competitive application to selective higher education institutions across the UK.”

Authors warned that recent funding cuts to Uni Connect have undermined its delivery capacity and partnership with schools.

“If the government is serious about tackling access and participation, then rhetoric alone is not sufficient; it must be combined with resources,” the report adds.

It called for greater collaboration between higher education providers, local authorities and national programmes to target cold spots and maximise value for money. And it urged universities to expand and scale up sustained contact programmes and pursue more rigorous evaluation of current interventions.

Co-author Charlotte Armstrong, policy manager at Hepi, said sustained, early outreach can significantly shift outcomes, particularly for the most disadvantaged, making progression to higher education far more likely.

“But if these approaches are to be scaled, the sector must strengthen how it evaluates them, building a more robust evidence base to guide action and maximise impact.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com