Launch of New Birmingham and Solihull Aimhigher

University College Birmingham is part of a pioneering regional scheme to inspire and help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds gain access to higher education.

The recently launched Birmingham and Solihull Aimhigher regional partnership has brought together four of the City's universities – Aston, Birmingham City, Birmingham and UCB.

Each will work with schools and colleges across Birmingham and involve University staff and students working as pupil mentors and staging activities such as summer schools and subject masterclasses.

Particularly popular are the Unifest Summer Schools which give Year 10, 11 and 12 pupils a chance to experience student life on campus. UCB held two successful summer schools in July this year covering hospitality and Spa based courses.

The Universities have provided funding to run the subsidised activities with local schools covering additional costs. Schools that have agreed to take part in the scheme include Great Barr School, Wheelers Lane Technology College and Broadway School in Perry Barr.

Paul Simpson, Deputy Principal, University College Birmingham comments:

“When the Government wound down the national Aimhigher initiative, the City’s Universities were galvanised into action to make sure that the momentum was kept going and pupils who needed support and advice the most didn’t miss out.   We are committed to achieving positive results for our activities – certainly the summer schools we have held so far have been successful in giving pupils the confidence to ask questions and find out more about life at University and we can encourage them to believe that they can achieve”.

Simon Hughes, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, who launched the partnership, applauded Birmingham’s commitment to supporting a regional Aimhigher partnership:

“Similar projects have been set up but I believe the Birmingham model is significant in that it has proudly retained the Aimhigher brand. With this come the values and legacy of the hard work which has inspired a generation of young people to believe that a university education was the right option for them. I am really confident that this scheme will support people across the West Midlands in their aspirations in the years ahead and I congratulate all the partners on the way they have pulled together to make this project a reality”.

Read about the success of last July’s UCB Unifest events here http://www.ucb.ac.uk/news/archive/2011/08/04-unifest-success-for-third-year-running.aspx