2006 - 2008 Regional Strand 2
Regional Summer Schools
Main Contacts
Steve Furness, Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, University of the West of England, Coldharbour
Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY
Telephone 0117 3283876
Email Stephen.Furness@uwe.ac.uk
Partners: All HEIs and FEIs in the SW region plus a range of other partners including schools, EAZ/EICs and the Connexions services.
Outline
The regional summer school programme is designed to complement and extend the activities of the area partnerships. It aims to offer young people an opportunity to:
• experience aspects of HE student life through
a wide-ranging residential programme
• build the skills and confidence necessary to progress to HE
• explore some HE subject options and find out about learning and
teaching in HE
• learn from and spend time with current HE students who act as
mentors
• move beyond their immediate locality
• visit an institution in another part of the region
• meet a wider circle of young people
• obtain more information about student finance and about graduate
careers
The summer schools have formed an important part of Aimhigher’s programme of activities. Their particular contribution in the SW is to offer an intensive residential experience that maintains aspirations and builds confidence so that young people are able move towards HE. The involvement of the area partnerships and the Aimhigher co-ordinators in recruiting to the summer schools ensures that the regional and area programmes work together for the benefit of young people in target groups.
The reduction in funding for the summer school programme between 2006 and 2008 has led the SW to reflect upon the value that regional summer schools can add to the area programmes and the ways in which this contribution can be maximised. The Regional Forum has decided that the regional summer schools should recruit from across the whole region, making it appropriate to focus this intervention on school students in years 11 and 12. The delivering HEIs will need to follow up summer school participants to ensure that they continue to be supported as they progress towards HE. The Regional Forum has agreed that the following principles should underpin the programme.
Regional summer schools should
• prioritise the number of beneficiaries over
the length of the events.
• normally recruit from across the region, implying that these should
be residential events.
• be subject to the same value for money indicators as the area
and regional partnerships.
• keep central administrative costs to no more than 25 per cent
of the total bid.
UWE will remain the banker institution for the summer school programme. The reduction in funding for the programme and the consequent need to review the central administration has caused the University of Exeter to reconsider its position as summer school lead. The regional manager is discussing the ways in which the summer school programme might be administered for 2006-8 and is confident that satisfactory arrangements will be put in place before the extended programme begins in October 2006. These discussions will ensure that, in future, the central administration is closely linked to the regional team at UWE to ensure that the summer school programme is integrated with other Aimhigher developments.
Predecessor to this Strand 2003 - 2006 in the Archive
