aimhigher, impact and learner identity : case studies from the

Aimhigher, Impact and Learner Identity:Case Studies from the North East of England

Richard DodgsonCarole CraddockSuzanne Powell

Malcolm Craddock

Aimhigher North East

June 2008

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis report discusses the findings of a pilot research project that examined the impact of Aimhigher upon the learneridentities of a small number of young people and their schools in the North East of England. The research wasspecifically concerned with seeking some initial insights into the impact of Aimhigher upon the attainment, aspirationsand attitudes of learners towards higher education.

In examining these issues, the research also touched upon how learners and staff experience or engage with Aimhigher,the process of how young people make decisions about higher education and the role of parents, families and teachersin shaping these decisions.

In seeking to fulfil the overall aim of the project, the research team conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of43 participants – including young people, their parents and school staff. On the basis of information gathered in theseinterviews, the research team constructed five school case studies, at the heart of which are the views of staff and younglearners.

Using these five case studies as a base, the report concludes that:

n Staff and learners’ general experience of Aimhigher is overwhelmingly a positive one. Indeed, there is general support for Aimhigher amongst the teachers and learners who participated in the study.

n Learners experience Aimhigher as a range of different activities. These activities commonly include residential and non-residential campus visits, master classes, student support staff (e.g. student advocates), attendance at subject specific conferences, participation in aspiration raising/progression programmes at local universities and a variety of other enrichment activities.

n Most activity is focused on years 9-13 and whilst it is planned, there is little evidence across the five schools of this activity being planned in such a way that it would represent a progressive and systematic journey for the learner.

n Learner awareness of Aimhigher is very mixed - a majority of learners are uncertain and unaware of the specifics of the programme, including whether the widening participation activities they had participated in were Aimhigher funded or not.

n The views of staff and students diverge on the issue of targeting. The minority of learners who were actually awareof being selected for participation in Aimhigher activities did not feel that there was any real stigma attached to this.

n Currently the approach to targeting is very mixed, however, within the context of a genuine concern that targeting runs counter to and may undermine the inclusive ethos of their school, all of the staff who participated within the research recognised the need to target Aimhigher activities more effectively.

n It is difficult to unpack the impact of Aimhigher upon individual or school-wide levels of attainment. Teachers feel that a wide range of factors contribute to this and that attainment would have increased anyway across the whole school without the existence of Aimhigher. Similarly, the majority of learners feel that they were already motivated to work hard and succeed prior to participating in Aimhigher activities.

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n Staff and learners feel that Aimhigher does impact positively upon general attitudes to learning and higher education. The key strength of Aimhigher here is that it provides learners with the opportunity to experience higher education. Teaching staff also see Aimhigher as contributing to increased progression to sixth form and college.

n Staff and learners also feel that Aimhigher has a significant positive influence upon individual and school-wide aspirations towards higher education. Staff feel that taster days, summer schools and master classes have a particularly positive impact upon the aspirations of learners. Learners agree that these activities are enjoyable and influential when making decisions about higher education, particularly if they provide an opportunity to meet current students.

n Learners feel that parents and families are the key catalysts for the decision to enter higher education. Experiences gained through Aimhigher act to reinforce this decision and smooth the progress of entering higher education.

Overall, the research discussed here appears to confirm much of the existing theory related to the formulation of‘learner identity’. Specifically, it highlights once again how learner identities change over time as learners interact with awide range of social and cultural stimuli. Furthermore, all of the young people demonstrate a high degree of agency aslearners. Finally, the case studies discussed here do show that Aimhigher impacts positively upon the learner identity ofindividual students, in particular, their attitudes and aspirations towards higher education.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe research team would like to thank staff, pupils and parents at all of the case study schools that participated withinthe research project. The research team also acknowledges the support of Aimhigher colleagues within the North East.

The Learner Identity Research TeamAimhigher North East

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CONTENTSExecutive summary 2

Acknowledgement 4

Contents 5

Introduction 7

Aimhigher, impact and ‘learner identity’ 8‘Learner identity’ and Aimhigher 9

Methodology and research activity 11

Case Study 1: City School 13Institution and learner background 13Experience and engagement 13Targeting and stigma 14Attainment and attitude to learning 15Aspirations and access to higher education 15

Case Study 2: Riverview School 17Institution and learner background 17Experience and engagement 17Targeting and stigma 18Attainment and attitude to learning 18Aspirations and access to higher education 19

Case Study 3: County School 20Institution and learner background 20Experience and engagement 20Targeting and stigma 21Attainment and attitude to learning 22Aspirations and access to higher education 22

Case Study 4: Seaview School 24Institution and learner background 24Experience and engagement 24Targeting and stigma 26Attainment and attitude to learning 26Aspirations and access to higher education 27

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Case Study 5: Hillside School 29Institution and learner background 29Experience and engagement 29Targeting and stigma 30Attainment and attitude to learning 31Aspirations and access to higher education 31

Overview and conclusions 32

References 35

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INTRODUCTIONThis report discusses the findings of a pilot research project that examined the impact of Aimhigher upon the learneridentity of a small number of young people and their schools in the North East of England. Specifically, the researchwas concerned with seeking some initial insights into the impact of Aimhigher upon the attainment, aspirations andattitudes of learners towards higher education. In examining these issues, the research also touched upon how learnersand staff experience/engage with Aimhigher, the process of how young people make decisions about higher educationand the role of parents, families and teachers in shaping these decisions. In addition, as a piece of pilot research, theproject also sought to provide insights, pose questions and raise issues with regards to the object of enquiry (i.e.Aimhigher) as well as the appropriateness of research methods/tools.

At the heart of this report are five school case studies, each of which is based upon information collected from staff andyoung people. Section 2 below provides a detailed account of the methodology used to collect this information,although it is worth noting here that staff were asked to consider the impact of Aimhigher upon their school as whole,whilst the young people were asked to reflect on how Aimhigher has shaped their own personal aspirations andthoughts towards higher education1. Capturing and presenting in detail these thoughts and personal reflections was akey objective of the research project. Each of the five case studies addresses the key themes of institutional and learnerbackground; experience and engagement; targeting and stigma; attainment and attitude to learning; and aspirations andaccess to higher education.

Prior to the school case studies, this report discusses recent guidance on evaluating the impact of Aimhigher and theconcept of ‘learner identity’. This discussion is followed by an overview of the methodology by which information wasgathered from the young people, teachers, other school staff and parents that participated within the research project.

1All of the schools and young people that participated in the research have been given pseudonyms.

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AIMHIGHER, IMPACT& ‘LEARNER IDENTITY’“My department and HEFCE will challenge universities and WP programmes to look critically at what they do, to seewhat works and what does not. The programmes must strengthen their abilities to monitor their own activities, toevaluate their impact. The goal - unlocking the talents of everyone to build a stronger society to face the challenges ofthe next century – is too important simply to hope it is working. We need to know.”

(Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, December, 2007)

Recent guidance on the future of Aimhigher (HEFCE, 2008a) has emphasised the need to examine the impact ofAimhigher. Subsequent statements have reinforced this guidance, as well as stressing that ongoing purposefulevaluation is central to demonstrating the long term success of Aimhigher (HEFCE, 2008b).

Enquiry of this nature to date has indicated strongly that practitioners, including teachers, feel that Aimhigher does have apositive impact upon levels of attainment, as well as the aspirations of young people (and their families) towards highereducation. EKOS Consulting (2007:1) found that amongst practitioners, as well as young people, “there was a consistentsense of additionality being achieved through Aimhigher funding supporting activities that would not otherwise takeplace.” Similarly, research by Hatt et al (2008:6-8) in the South West indicated widespread support amongst teachers for thepositive impact of Aimhigher upon aspirations, awareness of higher education and motivation to study. Teachers,however, appear to be more reticent about the specific influence of Aimhigher, and widening participation activities ingeneral, upon individual or school wide levels of attainment (Hatt et al, 2008:10; HEFCE, 2006:51)

In addition to demonstrating support for the success of Aimhigher, EKOS Consulting (2007:3) and Hatt et al (2008:8)also highlight the effectiveness of specific Aimhigher/widening participation activities, namely residential summerschools; master classes away from school; master classes at school and mentoring. Higher education campus visits byschool/college students; student ambassadors and higher education student mentors/tutors working in school/collegesettings are also seen as being highly effective widening participation activities (HEFCE, 2006:24).

Whilst the commonly held view of practitioners may be that ‘Aimhigher works’, research evidence of the naturediscussed above is the exception rather than norm. Indeed, Government (Denham, 2007) and HEFCE have bothexpressed concerns about the strength of the evidence base in support of Aimhigher. The Director for WideningParticipation at HEFCE, for example, recently noted that:

“…while it is clear that the programme (Aimhigher) has worked for some young people, it is not clear that thewidening participation effort as a whole is as effective as it might be…the evidence base for widening participation isnot strong enough.” (Selby, 2007:12)

HEFCE’s (2006:51) earlier review of widening participation also raised questions about the relevance and reliability ofevidence relating to effectiveness of widening participation activities. Similarly, Gorard et al. (2006:116) comment:

“those advocating specific interventions (to widen participation) often claim success for them, but most interventionshave had no rigorous evaluations…This makes it difficult to judge the success, or otherwise, of any attempts to widenparticipation in the short term.”

With specific reference to Aimhigher, a more recent report by EKOS Consulting (2007:1) found that the current evidencebase is substantial, but weak. As a consequence of this “the overall impact of the (Aimhigher) programme cannot befully understood from the existing evidence base.” In the current policy making climate, where scarce public resourcesare allocated in line with evidence of need and programme effectiveness, such weaknesses are unacceptable toGovernment and the public as a whole (Denham, 2007).

In an attempt to fill the evaluation gap at the heart of Aimhigher, HEFCE has embarked upon a further programme ofnational evaluation, as well as seeking to build the capacity of Aimhigher practitioners to undertake evaluationactivities (Hatt, 2007; HEFCE, 2008b). Aimhigher areas have also been directed to submit annual evaluation strategiesfor the next three years up until 2011.

At the heart of these strategies is a focus on the learner, rather than activity, as partnerships have been instructed byHEFCE to develop strategies that involve the collection of detailed participant data and assess the impact of Aimhigherupon the attainment, awareness of and aspirations towards higher education of individual learners (HEFCE, 2008b).This focus upon the learner is in line with plans for the delivery of Aimhigher as a systematic and progressiveprogramme of activities (Action on Access, 2008), as well as the goal that by 2011, Aimhigher partnerships will “havemade a positive contribution to changes in learner identity and attainment through targeted outreach work designed towiden participation in higher education.”(HEFCE, 2008a:8)

‘Learner identity’ & Aimhigher

The concept of learner identity is well established within the broader field of education, in particular, the sociology ofeducation. Weil (1986, cited by Rees et al, 2006:932) defines learner identity as:

“…the ways in which adults come to understand the conditions under which they experience learning as ‘facilitating’ or‘inhibiting’, constructive or destructive. Learner identity suggests the emergence of values and beliefs about learning,schooling or knowledge. The construct incorporates personal, social, sociological, experiential and intellectualdimensions of learning as integrated over time.”

Rees et al (2006:932) go on to note that:

“Learner identity encapsulates how individuals come to understand themselves as learners and thus, their relationshipto learning opportunities. Accordingly, it provides the framework through which alternative courses of educationalaction are evaluated.”

Thus, learner identities are highly individualistic, as amongst other things, they are constantly constructed andreconstructed by individuals (Waller, 2004:38) in response to their own personal experience and understanding of educationand learning. Once constructed, learner identity provides a framework for further choices and decisions about education.

Individuals shape and construct their own learner identities in the context of wider and deeply embedded socialstructures, for example, race, gender and social class (Archer, 2003:13-15). The relationship between these sociallyembedded structures and the ability of individuals to construct their own learner identity (i.e. exercise their ownindividual agency) is central to understanding how these identities emerge and re-emerge over time.

In addition to individual human agency and deep seated social structures, recent studies of young people have focusedon their experience of school as a key influence upon their learner identity. Swain (2007:94-95) comments that learneridentities and dispositions are not fixed or purely determined; “individuals are able to change their views andunderstandings of themselves”, but only in as far as their structural and cultural circumstances allow. Thus, learneridentities are highly individualistic as, amongst other things, they are constantly constructed and reconstructed byindividuals (Waller, 2004:38) in response to their own personal experience of education and learning. Once constructed,learner identity provides a framework for further choices and decisions about education.

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Recent studies of young people have focused on their experience of school as a key influence upon their learner identity.Indeed, both Rees et al (2006:933) and Raphael Reed et al (2007:26) note that those young people who have a successfulexperience of learning at school are more likely to develop a positive learner identity and therefore be more likely totake advantage of learning opportunities in later life. On this same theme, Attwood and Croll (2006, cited in RaphaelReed et al, 2007:26) comment that two factors have a considerable impact at this stage of a learner’s career – the markeddecline in parental support for education between Years 8 and 9 and professing enjoyment for school at age 12-14. Withreference to the latter, Attwood and Croll (2006, cited in Raphael Reed et al, 2007:26) go on to state that:

“…this appears to represent a learner identity underpinned by parental support for education, alongside an engaged,active and reflective approach to learning and development. Young people who enjoy and feel engaged with school atthis point are significantly more likely to want to stay in education beyond sixteen and have a positive dispositiontowards HE.”

Raphael Reed et al (2007:27) themselves state that:

“…young people’s experiences during Key Stage 3 (when aged 11-14) are critical to the likelihood of them progressingto HE and that by the time they reach 14 years of age their learning identities and trajectories have already beenpowerfully formed.”

Raphael Reed et al (2007:27) also raise the issue of agency and its relationship to the formation of learner identity;specifically they assert that a positive learner identity is closely related to young people feeling, “…a sense of agency aslearners – knowing what they are good at (and) how to improve.” This evidence, leads Raphael Reed et al (2007:50) toconclude that:

“Of critical importance is the need to promote strategies that empower young people with a greater sense of agency intheir own learning and build parental confidence to provide their children with ongoing support and encouragement.All three of these conditions are strongly associated with young people developing a learner identity where they wantto stay in education at sixteen and have positive attitudes to higher education.”

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METHODOLOGY & RESEARCH ACTIVITYThe pilot research discussed here had two strands, the overall aim of which was to examine the impact of Aimhigherupon the learner identity of a small number of young people and their schools in the North East of England. Strand 1 ofthe research was focused on the impact of Aimhigher upon the learner identity of individual young people across theregion, whilst strand 2 was concerned with the impact of Aimhigher upon schools.

Schools were selected for participation in the research project in cooperation with Aimhigher coordinators across theregion. Each Aimhigher coordinator was asked to identify 2-3 schools that they felt may be willing to participate in theresearch project. After contact with the Aimhigher coordinator in each of these schools, the short list of 12 possibleparticipating institutions was reduced to a final list of 5. Each of the case studies below begins with a short descriptionof each school. It is worth noting here, however, that these schools were distributed evenly across the region and wererepresentative of the region as a whole in terms of size and make up of the school population, level of attainment andnumber of pupils applying to higher education.

Each of the participating institutions selected 2 students to participate in strand 1 of the research. In selecting thesestudents, the only stipulation made by the research team was that they needed to have had quite extensive experienceof Aimhigher funded activities. 5 out of the 10 students who did participate within the research were in Year 13, 4students were in Year 12 and 1 student was in Year 11. 6 out of the 10 students were female and all were white.Discussion with each of the young people who participated in the research indicated that the majority had limitedfamily experience of higher education. In this regard, as well as being highly motivated towards their own educationand learning and wanting to progress to higher education in the future (although they may still have some doubtsabout the specifics of this), these young people would appear to be quite typical of other students that participate inwidening participation activities across the region.

Information was collected from the young people via two semi-structured interviews, all of which were conducted bythe same member of the research team. The first interview was focused on collecting information related topersonal/family background, experience of school or college, aspirations and attitudes to higher education andexperience of Aimhigher. At the conclusion of this first interview, each of the participating students was asked tocomplete a short task in their own time. This task involved drawing a timeline on which they noted their involvementin Aimhigher activities and any impact that they felt these activities had, either upon their attainment or upon theiraspirations and attitude to higher education. In the second interview with each young person, the timeline was used asa stimulus for more detailed discussion of the young person’s experience of Aimhigher, the perceived impact ofAimhigher upon their attainment and aspirations/attitude towards higher education and the impact of other factorsupon their views and decisions relating to higher education in the future.

Additional information and perspective on the impact of Aimhigher upon the learner identity of each participatingstudent was gathered from parents and a member of staff at the student’s school. This member of staff was identified bythe student as someone who had been particularly helpful or supportive. Again, these interviews focused on thepersonal/family background of the student, their educational experience, engagement with Aimhigher, the perceivedimpact of Aimhigher upon attainment and attitude/aspirations to Aimhigher. Parents and staff members were alsoasked to identify other critical factors/instances in the development of the participating student’s learner identity.

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Information for strand 2 of the research was gathered from a total of 23 staff across the 5 participating institutions. In allcases, the research team spoke to the Aimhigher coordinator, a member of the senior management team (in some casesthis was the same person) and another member of staff that had experience of Aimhigher. Interviews with staff werefocused upon the following issues:

n Background to the schooln Managing and delivering Aimhigher activitiesn Details of Aimhigher activitiesn Impact of Aimhigher upon aspirations, attitude and attainmentn Unintended consequences of Aimhighern Challenges

In addition, the research team also collected background information on the school/college.

Information and evidence gathered through both strands of the research has been brought together in the 5 case studiesbelow. The aim of any case study is to present detailed explanation of a specific circumstance or occurrence. Even whensimilar case studies are constructed and considered together, the central weakness of this particular methodologicalapproach is that of limited generalisability (Bryman and Bell, 2003:55). In the case of the research presented anddiscussed here, this general methodological weakness is compounded by the fact that each case study is based upon arelatively small number of participants.

Counter to these general and specific weaknesses, an overall total of 43 semi-structured interviews were completed,including a number of different viewpoints (which addressed the need for the triangulation of research sources),represents a substantial foundation for any pilot research project. Furthermore, as indicated above, the 5 case studyschools are representative of schools across the North East as a whole, whilst the young people who participated in theresearch are quite typical of the pupils/students who participate in widening participation activities across the region.Most significantly, each of the 5 case studies below are sufficiently ‘thick’ to allow the reader to reflect and draw theirown conclusions. This is recognised as the main strength of the comparative case study method adopted here (Brymanand Bell, 2003:56; Gillham, 2000:8).

CASE STUDY 1: CITY SCHOOLInstitution and learner background

City School is an 11-19 secondary/community school with over 200 teaching staff and 2,100 pupils. Staff describe thearea in which the school is based as being ‘poor’ with little or no history of a skilled labour force, unlike other areas ofthe city in which it is based. Free school meals eligibility is also approximately twice the national average at 30%. Whilstit is a large school, staff feel that it is still a very positive place to learn.

Levels of performance and attainment at City School have continued to improve over the last 5 years, for example, thepercentage of pupils achieving grades A*-C at GCSE has risen from 36% in 2002 to 81% in 2007. Over this same periodof time average point score per pupil at A/AS/GNVQ has also increased. Numbers of applications to higher educationthrough UCAS, as well as accepted applications, have both increased in recent years.

Mark and Fiona are both current pupils at City School in years 11 and 12 respectively. Mark has a keen interest inphotography and IT and would like to study forensic science, sociology and psychology at A’ level. Mark is currentlystudying for GCSEs and plans to stay on into sixth form next year. Mark’s uncle studied at university but neither of hisparents did so. He lives with his mother in “the roughest street” in his local area where there is a lot of police activity.His father, uncle and ‘Nanna’ support him with his school work and are influential in terms of his performance atschool. Mark also has a good relationship with his English teacher, who gives him a lot of support and would, he feels,have filled any gap left by his parents in terms of motivation and encouragement. Overall, Mark is highly self-motivated and determined.

Fiona is studying Media, Psychology, English Literature and English Language at A’ level and wants to be a journalist.Her first choice university is Sunderland, followed by Southampton. She left school for a few months whilst in Year 8because of bullying but, since returning to school and being supported by her mentor and mother, she has become moreconfident and determined to show people what she can do. Fiona is now on the Student Committee. She has alsoexperienced ‘family problems’ in recent times. She is the oldest sibling and would be the first in her family to go touniversity. Both her mother and mentor describe her as strong and resilient.

Experience and engagement

“We have a detailed and extensive post-16 development plan and within that there is an Aimhigher development planand strategic initiatives are included in that.” (Progression Coach, City School)

At City School, Aimhigher is coordinated/managed by a senior member of staff, who has responsibility for post-16studies, with the help of two full time support staff. The Aimhigher coordinator within City School manages theAimhigher budget (currently £24,000) which is ‘ring fenced’ for specific Aimhigher activities. This funding is allocatedin line with the requirements of a school wide Aimhigher development plan, which itself is embedded in the school’soverall development plan.

Aimhigher activities at City School start in Year 9 with a visit from the Aimhigher Roadshow. Year 9 pupils also havethe opportunity to attend a theatre in education performance which includes ‘Aimhigher type messages’ (Progression

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Coach, City School). This theatre in education performance coincides with the Year 9 options period. In Year 10, learnersfrom City School participate in Aimhigher residential summer schools, whilst Year 12 students also attend masterclasses at Teesside University, the fee for which is paid from City School’s Aimhigher budget. Aimhigher funding atCity School is also used to cover the cost of students participating in a variety of widening participation activities atuniversities locally and further afield. These activities include the STARS programme at Durham University (Year 9),Newcastle University’s Partners Programme (Year’s 12 and 13), ACE days (Year’s 10 and 11) and open days at Leedsand York (Year 12). Student ambassadors from Newcastle University also visit City School to meet learners and providea picture of university life.

Mark and Fiona’s awareness of Aimhigher is very different. Fiona has no specific awareness of Aimhigher, whilst Markis very aware of Aimhigher, the main purpose of which he sees as being “to build your ambitions and give youinspiration to go to university.” Mark makes a strong link between Aimhigher and visiting different universities,something which perhaps reflects his own experience of attending a taster day at Durham University, participating in asummer school at Lancaster University and visiting Newcastle University. With regards to having an impact, Mark feelsthat his summer school experience at Lancaster University was most significant as it made him more confident aboutmaking new friends and going somewhere where he would have to meet new people. Mark feels that he hasexperienced everything that Aimhigher has to offer (in addition to campus visits, he has also participated in theAimhigher Roadshow, a theatre in education visit and had a mentor), and whilst he has had some positive experiencesthrough Aimhigher, he does not feel that it has had any real impact on his plans:

“I wish my friend had had my place in Aimhigher because it would’ve done some good for him, whereas it hasn’t forme.” (Mark, City School).

Fiona, like Mark, has also participated in a residential summer school at Lancaster University, as well as takingadvantage of ‘taster day’ opportunities at the universities of Sunderland, Durham and Newcastle. Fiona feels that thesevisits provided her with a good opportunity to compare institutions and find out about different aspects of universitylife through talking to current students and staff. Fiona also recalls visiting the Aimhigher Roadshow in Year 10, whichincluded presentations on university life and the chance to pick up some prospectuses. Fiona has been encouraged tovisit and apply to different universities by her mentor. Fiona feels that her mentor gives her reassurance:

“She (the mentor) was like you can go to university – you’re going to write off to them and you’re going to befabulous.” (Fiona, City School).

Targeting and stigma

All of the young people who participate in Aimhigher activities at City School are identified and targeted in Year 9using data collected from primary schools/staff on educational background and performance. Using this evidence, aschool wide Aimhigher cohort is identified and targets set for individual pupils. The Aimhigher coordinator and relatedstaff within City School make these students aware of what Aimhigher is and that they are good enough to achieve thegrades at GCSE that will allow them to go onto sixth form and eventually higher education. The Aimhigher fundingthat City School receives is targeted at these specific pupils.

A member of staff at City School feels that one of the disadvantages of identifying and targeting pupils in this way isthat children who are not part of the widening participation cohort do feel quite a lot of resentment towards those thatare engaged with Aimhigher. Fiona also noted that some of her friends feel that it is unfair that she gets to visit differentuniversities and they don’t. Furthermore, Fiona comments that on occasions when participation in a particular activityis opened up to pupils outside of the widening participation cohort, her friends think, ‘I haven’t been picked for it, sowhy should I bother?’

Attainment and attitude to learning

As indicated above, Mark is very self-sufficient and motivated when it comes to his own learning and success at school.For example, in preparation for studying psychology at A’ level (a subject he has a keen interest in but is unable to study atGCSE) Mark is reading psychology books at home in his own time. The fact that Mark was able to take his SATs and beginstudying English GCSE a year ahead of schedule is also evidence of Mark’s ability to achieve. Whilst Mark likes to rely onhis own resources, he does acknowledge the support of his parents and other family members, “…without [parental]support, I would’ve let myself slip in terms of getting A’s, but I would never have gone below a C.” Mark’s Englishteacher has also motivated him and encouraged him to do well with his work at school. The only direct connection Markmakes between Aimhigher and his own attainment/attitude to learning is feeling ‘demotivated’ when returning to schoolafter the summer school that he attended at Lancaster University because he had had such a positive experience:

“When I came back…I think I was quite depressed actually, I just didn’t do any work or anything…because I had somuch of a good time, I just couldn’t be bothered with any school work.” (Mark, City School).

Unlike Mark, Fiona feels that Aimhigher has had a more direct and positive impact upon her own attainment andattitude to learning. Fiona notes, for example, that after visiting a number of different universities, she is now moreaware and determined to achieve the grades she needs to study her first choice course at her first choice institution:

“I used to be quite laid back – I was just sailing along, was passing everything and I was naturally clever, then I thought‘God, if I’m going to get there, I’m going to really have to crack down and do some hard work’.” (Fiona, City School).

Fiona and her mentor also feel that her experience of participating in a variety of Aimhigher activities, in particular theresidential summer school at Lancaster University, has pushed her to achieve more:

“I think the Aimhigher summer school was the motivation for her…That’s her dream, that’s her outcome and she sawthat GCSEs and then sixth form, it was stepping stones to that.” (Mentor, City School)

Staff at City School are able to highlight specific widening participation activities (that are fully or partially fundedthrough Aimhigher) that have contributed to improvements in attainment and attitude to learning. One example ofsuch activities are summer schools in English, Maths and Science with Year 6 pupils from City School’s feeder primaryschools. These summer schools are delivered by City School’s learning mentors and progression coaches. ACE Days andPartners Days at Newcastle University have also helped to raise the attainment of Year 10 pupils at City School byproviding them with an objective (i.e. going on to higher education) and helping them to think about which subjectsthey may wish to study in sixth form and beyond.

Increasing numbers of students entering the sixth form (a 12% increase between 2003 and 2006, and an 18% increasebetween 2006-07 and 2007-08) are seen by staff at City School as one the main contributions Aimhigher has made to theschool and attitude to learning of pupils and their parents:

“There is an expectation from parents that their children will stay on in the sixth form now…this is because we offer amassive range of courses plus all of the work we have done with widening participation coming to fruition.”(Aimhigher coordinator, City School).

Aspirations and access to higher education

Across the whole school, Aimhigher and other widening participation activities have made a significant contribution tothe aspirations of pupils at City School to access higher education in the future. Specifically, the Aimhigher coordinatorand other staff acknowledge the impact of ACE days and work to encourage students (and their parents) to ‘stay on’ inthe sixth form and then progress to higher education. ACE days, staff at City School comment, can provide pupils withthe confidence and motivation they need to go to university:

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“You can tell them it is okay, but for them to see it and feel it – is quite a powerful message – it shows them they can doit…Loads of kids who have come back from an ACE day have said ‘I know what I want to do now’ – they are full of it.Some parents phoned to say thank you after the visit because it had such an impact on their children.” (ProgressionCoach, City School)

At City School, Aimhigher funding is also used to cover the cost of learners participating in taster days to encourageYear 11 students to stay on in the sixth form. These taster days are backed up with a parents evening that includes talksabout sixth form and progression routes into higher education. At the beginning of the new academic year, Aimhigherfunding is also used to pay for a sixth form induction day at a local university which includes motivational speakersand the opportunity to meet current students. The links between Aimhigher, staying on in sixth form and progression tohigher education are recognised by the Aimhigher coordinator at City School:

“When I was first head of sixth form in 1994 only 10 pupils went on to university – last year it was 90. A lot of this isdown to Aimhigher…They go on an ACE day and come back thinking that they can do that as well.” (Aimhighercoordinator, City School).

Underpinning the activities discussed above is the work of two Progression Coaches. Funded in part throughAimhigher, both coaches feel that they play an important role in raising the aspirations of pupils. Much of the work ofthe Progression Coaches is done on a one to one basis with pupils. This approach allows them to build up a relationshipwith individual students and provide support that is tailored to individual needs. Both coaches recognize that they arefortunate to have the time and facilities to support pupils individually:

“The school is organised to let us do it – we are supporting teacher’s roles – it is not just the odd thing that happens. Allstaff are aware of Aimhigher activities and what it means.” (Progression Coach, City School).

Both Mark and Fiona had a desire to go to university before becoming involved with Aimhigher. In Mark’s case, thisaspiration was a result of his uncle’s own experience of higher education. However, Mark and Fiona also acknowledgethat the experiences they have gained through Aimhigher, in particular the opportunity to visit a number of differentuniversities, has reinforced these aspirations. Echoing the views of staff above, Fiona notes that:

“…the uni visits were like stepping stones...they made my decision more concrete…it’s made me want to go more, but Iwas going to go anyway.” (Fiona, City School).

Fiona’s mentor shares these views:

“I think they have made it more relevant for her and opened up a whole new world for her, which she had beendreaming about for some time…it fired her up and made her more determined that she was going to do well andachieve.” (Mentor, City School).

Mark and Fiona have both had the support of their parents/family in aspiring to enter higher education. Mark is alsomotivated by the fact that his parents did not go to university, “I look at them and think I don’t want to be like yousewhen I am older. That motivates me.” Mark also sees higher education as a route out of the area in which he lives andultimately a better job, “You get a degree and get a better job when you are older.”

Unlike Mark, Fiona is uncertain about the financial aspects of going to university, as well being concerned that she willleave higher education with a large amount of debt. Whilst she is okay about moving away from home, Fiona is undersome pressure from her parents not to leave the area, “…me Ma’s like you can’t go there, I don’t want you to…you’renot getting my support if you go there.” Fiona admits that this pressure has come as something of a surprise and feelsthat things would be a little easier if her parents understood more about higher education. Indeed, Mark and Fiona bothagree that more could be done within the context of Aimhigher to educate and inform parents.

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CASE STUDY 2: RIVERVIEW SCHOOLInstitution and learner background

Riverview School is a 13-18 community high school of medium size. The area in which the school is based ischaracterised by high levels of deprivation and ‘real poverty’ as well as low levels of adult numeracy and literacy(Aimhigher coordinator, Riverview School). Levels of performance and attainment at Riverview School have continuedto improve over the last 5 years; for example, the percentage of pupils achieving grades A*-C at GCSE have risen from32% in 2002 to 42% in 2007. Over this same period of time average point score per pupil at A/AS/GNVQ has alsoincreased. In recent years, there has also been an upwards trend in the number of applications (and accepted applicants)to higher education through UCAS (Aimhigher North East, 2008).

Amy and Hayley are Year 13 pupils at Riverview School. Amy is currently studying A’ level English, History and Mediaand hopes to study English Language at university in the future. Amy is a peer mentor in her school, a role that sheenjoys, and has also taken the Duke of Edinburgh silver award. Following university, Amy hopes to pursue a career injournalism, with regards to this she has already developed close links with a local paper. Amy is one of four children,two older brothers are academic (one has been to university and now doing his PhD), whilst her father went touniversity through work aged 35.

Hayley is studying English Literature, History and Religious Studies at A’ level and has aspirations to study EnglishLiterature at university; she has visited Huddersfield, Keele and Manchester. Outside of school, Hayley enjoys writingand works with Connexions to produce their magazine for young people. Hayley has also worked with school as atrainee youth worker. No one in Hayley’s immediate family has experience of higher education.


Prior to receiving Aimhigher funding, Riverview School received funding for widening participation activities throughthe Education Action Zone and Excellence Plus. A former deputy head, the current Aimhigher coordinator has held therole for a number of years. The coordinator is supported by a student advocate (who is funded through Aimhigher) anda youth development worker. Riverview School receives approximately £12,000 Aimhigher funding per year. £5,000 ofthis funding goes directly to the school to pay for the costs of coordination and the delivery of activity, whilst £7,000 isheld on an area level to pay for activity. Riverview School has also been successful in accessing other additional moneythat is available on an area level, as well as receiving £900 to support their student advocate.

Aimhigher activities at Riverview School start in Year 9 with a visit from the Aimhigher Roadshow. Year 10 studentsparticipate in residential summer schools, whilst in Year 11 pupils work closely with the Aimhigher student advocateand attend a ‘raising aspirations’ conference. In the past, Year 12 students from Riverview School have attended a tasterday at Sunderland University, master classes (Aimhigher funding is used to cover transport costs) and a theatre ineducation project. Year 13 students also participate in a theatre in education project that is designed to raise theiraspirations. In addition to the above, Aimhigher funding has also been used to support individual students in attendingspecialist conferences, for example in medicine, at universities around the country. The Aimhigher coordinator has alsodeveloped an Aimhigher 6 week learning programme for Year 10 students.

Amy and Hayley are both aware of Aimhigher, but they are unclear about its role and purpose within RiverviewSchool. Amy, in particular, feels that more could be done to promote Aimhigher within her school, “I think they shouldget some people into school to say ‘we are from Aimhigher’ and so people can see what Aimhigher actually does. So allthis stuff, I didn’t know that Aimhigher was linked to it all.” In the process of being interviewed, both Amy and Hayleymade a connection between Aimhigher and it being for people from ‘less well off’ areas.

As a result of the Riverview School receiving Aimhigher funding, Hayley and Amy have both been involved inactivities to raise their self esteem (i.e. tribal dancing) and provide them with a taste of higher education. For example,Amy has visited Newcastle University and subsequently participated in the Newcastle University Partners programme.Hayley was selected to attend an Aimhigher summer school but decided not attend. Hayley has also attended tasterdays at Newcastle and Northumbria Universities. Whilst she found these taster days ‘a little boring’, Hayley felt thatthey were useful in providing her with the opportunity to visit the different campuses and meet current students; theseexperiences, she feels, confirmed her decision to enter higher education. Both Hayley and Amy comment that they wereencouraged to take part in these different activities by the school youth worker (who was a former Aimhigher studentadvocate in Riverview School).


Riverview School has a mixed approach to targeting pupils to participate in Aimhigher funded activities, “Aimhighermoney is not used specifically for widening participation students all of the time, sometimes it is tightly targeted atwidening participation, sometimes not.” (Aimhigher coordinator, Riverview School) Staff feel that even when funding isnot ‘tightly targeted’, given the area in which the school is based, the majority of pupils that participate in activitieswould still meet widening participation criteria. On occasions when funding is targeted, the Aimhigher coordinatorworks closely with Directors of Learning who hold a lot of data on pupils’ background and potential. For example, Year10 pupils were selected for participation in Aimhigher activities on the basis of whether they were borderline A-C atGCSE and the higher education background of their parents. Ultimately, the Aimhigher coordinator at Riverview Schooldoes not feel that pupils feel discriminated against if they are not selected for Aimhigher activities as none of them areaware that funding is for widening participation.

Neither Amy nor Hayley felt any stigma about being involved in Aimhigher activities, although neither were aware ofbeing specifically selected for participation or the criteria underpinning this process. Amy commented that being awareof these criteria may have made things worse, “Actually it might have made things worse – it might have made youthink ‘just because my parents didn’t go to HE, doesn’t mean I am not going to think about it’.”


Both Amy and Hayley felt that their participation in Aimhigher activities has had a positive impact upon theirattainment and overall attitude to learning. Amy, for example, feels that as a result of participating in Aimhigheractivities she is now more ready and able to make the connection between working hard at school and getting into agood university. Similarly, Hayley comments that, “before I could just sit back in class and get average grades. Now Ihave to work a bit harder and get the good grades.” Hayley’s mother also comments upon her positive attitude toeducation, however, she does not make any specific link between this and her involvement in Aimhigher. Hayley andAmy also comment on how they have been pushed and motivated to achieve by the youth worker at Riverview School;“she definitely pushes me to work a bit more” (Amy, Riverview School).

In contrast to Amy and Hayley, staff at Riverview School are more uncertain about the overall impact of Aimhigherupon levels of attainment and attitudes to learning. Indeed, the Aimhigher coordinator at Riverview School was onlyable to identify one activity – an aspiration raising conference for Year 11 students – which he felt had had a positiveimpact upon the attitude to learning of these students that attended:

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“At the end of each day they were given an envelope with their predicted grades, for those whose predicted gradeswere not so good it gave them a spur to try harder. Afterwards, the boy who wanted to study medicine said he waseven more determined to get on the course.” (Aimhigher coordinator, Riverview School)


Staff feel the opportunities Aimhigher has provided to pupils to visit different universities, attend specialist conferences(for example, the Medsix conference at the University of Nottingham) and take part in a wide variety of enrichmentactivities has had a positive impact upon the aspirations of pupils to go to university. The Aimhigher coordinator atRiverview School feels that the Aimhigher funded student advocate has had a particularly significant impact upon theaspirations of students and their ability to access higher education. The key strength of the student advocate is that theyare current higher education students, as well as being ex-pupils with a lot of time to work with current pupils on a oneto one basis. The Aimhigher coordinator comments that:

“I think there is a huge message here – I think they bring different skills in terms of their relationship with youngpeople, they don’t have to engage with young people like teachers do. The kids do not see the student advocate as ateacher, but they are members of staff.” (Aimhigher coordinator, Riverview School)

Amy and Hayley also acknowledge the positive role played by the current youth worker at Riverview School (who is aformer student advocate) in raising their own aspirations and helping them prepare for higher education. Hayley, forexample, feels that the youth worker’s own experience of higher education has been useful as she makes her owndecisions about which university to apply to or not.

The youth worker at Riverview School recognises her own role in raising the aspirations of pupils and their familieswith regards to higher education, in particular, she feels that her ability to work on a one to one basis has beenparticularly useful. In addition, she also feels that university visits are useful in shaping and raising aspirations as theyhelp pupils “to look further afield and raise their sights when considering their future”. Overall, the youth worker feelsthat:

“young people are generally more informed as to what options are available to them in terms of higher education as aresult of the visits made to higher education institutions, involvement in conferences and large scale events and thedisplays and resources that have been made available to them over the last few years.” (Youth worker, RiverviewSchool)

Whilst acknowledging that working one to one with Riverview School’s youth worker has impacted positively upontheir aspirations towards higher education, both Amy and Hayley comment that they have always wanted to go touniversity. Amy feels that Aimhigher (in particular the opportunities to visit different universities), has made her morecertain about going to university and which university is best for her. These visits, as well as information provided bythe youth worker and current student advocate at Riverview School, have also helped to allay some of her concernsabout finance and getting into debt. Amy has also received help with her UCAS application, in particular her personalstatement. Hayley comments that experiences she has had because of Aimhigher have made her want to go to the bestuniversity possible:

“I always wanted to go to university before, but I was just going to a small university that would accept me with easygrades. Then they got it into my mind that I could apply to a really good one, that I could do it.” (Hayley, RiverviewSchool)

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CASE STUDY 3: COUNTY SCHOOLInstitution and learner background

County School is a mixed 11-18 school with just over 1,500 students, approximately 220 of which currently comprise theschool’s sixth form. County School draws students from a large area (traditionally the school has been oversubscribed)which is largely rural as well as being characterised by areas of significant deprivation. In contrast with the nationalpicture, learning difficulties and attainment on entry are slightly above average at County School, as is free school mealseligibility. The school is described by staff as being caring and inclusive.

Levels of performance and attainment at County School have continued to improve over the last 5 years; for example,the percentage of pupils achieving grades A*-C at GCSE have risen from 49% in 2002 to 76% in 2007. Over this sameperiod of time average point score per pupil at A/AS/GNVQ has also increased. In recent years, there has also been anupwards trend in the number of applications (and accepted applicants) to higher education through UCAS (AimhigherNorth East, 2008).

Ben and Nina are currently in Year 13 and year 12 at County School. Ben is currently studying for A’ levels inChemistry, English Literature and Biology, having taken A’ level Design in Year 12. Ben has always had aspirations toenter higher education (both his father and grandfather went to university) and he is currently considering studyinggenetics. Similarly, both of Nina’s parents have been to university and she expects to do so in the future. Nina is alsostudying A’ level Chemistry, as well as A’ level French and Geography. Nina works part time in a local shop, but isconsidering a future career in Dentistry.


County School currently receives £12,000 per year in Aimhigher funding. Funding is allocated (using a system that takesinto account levels of deprivation) and held by the local Aimhigher partnership; as activity takes place, County Schoolsubmits a claim form to the area partnership, after which funding is released into the school account. The Aimhighercoordinator at County School feels that this process for managing and allocating funding works well.

Aimhigher funding at County School is used to support a wide ranging programme of activities. This programme isconstructed by the Aimhigher coordinator at the start of the new academic year in consultation with County School’sHead of sixth form and heads of year (9, 10 and 11). Activities supported by Aimhigher at County School include theopportunity for Year 9 students to visit Liverpool Hope University, a special assembly on higher education and adviceon higher education as Year 9 students are considering their future options.

The Aimhigher coordinator speaks to Year 10 students about Aimhigher at the beginning of the new academic year.Following this, Aimhigher funding is used to cover the cost of Year 10 students participating in residential visits,outreach master classes at the University of Teesside and Northumbria University, mentoring and a vocational summerschool. Year 10 students ‘that are less academic’ attend taster courses at a local college during the summer term. TheAimhigher coordinator is currently planning more vocational activities for Year 10 students, for example, vocationaltaster activities that are designed to raise aspirations and open different pathways to employment and further educationfor these students.

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Pressure from subject heads means that the range of activities for Year 11 students at County School is more limited,however, these students still get the chance to visit an Oxbridge college and local universities. Year 12 students atCounty School participate in the Passport (University of Teesside) and Partners (Newcastle University) programmes.Sixth form students at County School are also encouraged to visit and use the resources available on the Aimhigherwebsite as they make choices about which university/course is right for them. In addition to these current activities, theAimhigher coordinator is also currently considering how best to use an Aimhigher funded transition mentor and jointAimhigher/LSC funded mentor within County School.

Ben and Nina are both aware of Aimhigher and its overall purpose. Ben comments that he knows which activities areAimhigher funded as these are the ones that are organised by the school’s Aimhigher coordinator, “he comes to us andsuggests that we go on them, he knows we’ll be able to go onto HE.” In contrast, Nina’s knowledge of Aimhigher isbased upon her experience as a student advocate. Significantly, Ben’s father and Nina’s mother are also aware that theirchildren have participated in Aimhigher funded activities, although Nina’s mother admits that she does not know agreat deal about the specifics of the programme:

“it’s about encouraging as many people…making secondary school pupils aware of the opportunities that are there forthem. To be honest, I don’t know an awful lot about it.”

As a student advocate, Nina feels that she has experienced a wide range of Aimhigher and other widening participationactivities. The activities she remembers most are a visit to Liverpool Hope university, which focused on the socialaspects of higher education (and led her in part to become a student advocate), a residential visit to Durham Universityand taster days at Newcastle and Northumbria universities. Nina feels that the most beneficial aspects of these visitshave been the opportunity to meet with existing university students, “you get to hear what they think of university, notjust all the spiel that you get from the university.”

Ben’s first experience of Aimhigher was attending the Aimhigher Roadshow when it visited County School. Withreference to this Ben remembers being very impressed:

“I thought it was good – I can remember being very impressed by how it appeared, it seemed really hi-tech and a lot ofeffort had been put into it. The surroundings helped it to be more interesting because it was all technological.” (Ben,County School)

Ben also liked the fact that the roadshow was a whole school activity, therefore he could attend with his friends. Ben hasalso attended a hovercraft building activity day at Teesside University, a residential trip to Oxford University and tasterdays at York and Teesside University (but Ben does not think that these taster days were Aimhigher funded).


Nina and Ben do not feel that there is any stigma attached to being involved in Aimhigher funded activities. Nina feelsthat this is because of the ‘whole school’ approach that is taken to these activities in Years 10 and 11. Nina commentsthat where Aimhigher is targeted,

“it is targeted at those who are more academically able, with services like Connexions being offered to those who areless academic and looking at more vocational options.” (Nina, County School)

Ben is aware that he was specifically targeted to participate in a visit to Oxford University, but he is not concerned bythis.

Whilst some Aimhigher funded activities at County School may be open to the whole school, the Aimhighercoordinator and other staff recognise that increasingly they have to use their own knowledge and data to identify themost suitable pupils. As indicated above, initial area and learner level targeting is undertaken by the local

authority/Aimhigher area partnership. Further learner level targeting is undertaken by the Aimhigher coordinator atCounty School, in consultation with year heads. When undertaking this process, the coordinator at County Schoolcomments that there is a need to take into account the concerns/interests of parents. The Aimhigher coordinator alsocommented that in the past County School had collected parental occupation data, but had stopped doing so because itwas quite problematic. However, he also recognises that they will have to resume this practice in light of currentguidance on targeting.


Staff at County School do not feel that Aimhigher has had any impact upon levels of attainment or attitudes to learningacross the school as a whole. Similarly, Ben and Nina do not feel that their involvement in Aimhigher activities hasraised their own individual levels of attainment. Significantly, Ben and Nina both feel that they have had the support oftheir parents in working hard at school.

Where Nina does believe Aimhigher has had an impact is upon her attitude to education and the purpose of workinghard at school. Whereas in the past, Nina had considered leaving school in pursuit of employment, she now realises thelonger term benefits of higher education:

“All they (other students) want to do is chase money, go straight for the job – they want the money immediately.Whereas Aimhigher shows you just forget about that – you only need 2 years at A’ level and 3 years at uni and you cango and make even more money – you’re opening the door to a lot more opportunities.” (Nina, County School).


Parental and family experience of higher education mean that Ben and Nina always felt that they would go on touniversity in the future. As Ben notes, “apart from wanting to do it [go to university], its something that I’ve alwaysbeen expected to do as well. So I’ve never not thought of going to university.” Similarly Nina comments, on the basis ofher academic ability and parents’ expectations, “I am going to university, I’m not allowed to go and get a job basically! Ihave no choice in the matter.” Nina goes on to add that she has learnt a lot about higher education from the experiencesof her parents, in particular, her mother who studied for a degree when Nina was a toddler, “I used to go intouniversity with her, so I have always been aware of the environment and used to seeing her studying at home.”

Whilst Aimhigher may not have impacted upon the fundamental aspirations of Ben and Nina to go to university, theyboth recognise that it has helped them with the specifics of what university and course is best suited to them. Ben’s visitto Oxford University, for example, made him realise that studying there was an achievable goal:

“In a way it made me feel like it was more attainable – especially being this far from it in the North East. I’d never reallythought about it before, but it made me feel that I could actually go there and I probably would enjoy it.” (Ben, CountySchool)

Ben goes on to comment that if he hadn’t visited a number of different universities he would not have known whichwas best for him:

“you wouldn’t know what to expect and you wouldn’t know which place was right for you. Like Oxford, Teesside andYork are all different places…it would make the whole process seem even more complicated.” (Ben, County School)

Ben’s father also feels that university trips have been useful in helping him to rule out options regarding what Benwants to study.

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Nina feels that trips to different universities were initially useful, but after a while they became a little tedious as shewas told and experienced much the same thing at each institution. Instead, Nina would have liked to have theopportunity to attend more subject specialist activities in years 12 and 13. Nina’s mum feels that visits have been usefulin ‘opening up Nina’s eyes’ to different aspects of university life. She also feels that the visits have helped her to ruleout a number of different options.

Staff feel that aspirations towards higher education are generally improving at County School, however, students arestill reluctant to consider attending a university outside of the North East. The Aimhigher coordinator does believe thatAimhigher events and activities have contributed to these changing attitudes and aspirations towards higher education.For example, the Aimhigher coordinator at County School also recognises the influence taster days can have and theway visits to different universities can impact positively upon the aspirations of these young people that take part inthem, “some trips disabuse students in terms of what they don’t want to do, or a place they don’t want to go, this is anegative reaction, but one that has positive implications.” Significantly, the Aimhigher coordinator feels that to havemaximum effect, generic visits to different university campuses, must be followed up by subject specific activities.Overall, the coordinator at County School feels that in terms of shaping aspirations, ‘drip feed effect’, has much greaterimpact than the ‘one off’ activity.

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CASE STUDY 4: SEAVIEW SCHOOLInstitution and learner background

Seaview School is a mixed 11-18 secondary high school with just under 800 pupils, approximately 180 of whomcurrently comprise the school’s sixth form. Although based in an urban area, Seaview School draws students from alarge area that is predominantly rural as well as being characterised by high levels of deprivation.

Levels of performance and attainment at Seaview School have continued to improve over the last 5 years, for example, thepercentage of pupils achieving grades A*-C at GCSE have risen from 38% in 2002 to 73% in 2007. Over this same period oftime average point score per pupil at A/AS/GNVQ has also increased. In recent years, there has also been an upwards trendin the number of applications (and accepted applicants) to higher education through UCAS (Aimhigher North East, 2008).

Sarah and Darren are both in Year 13 at Seaview School. Currently studying A’ level Biology, Chemistry and History,Darren is planning to go to university, followed by a career in either medicine or nursing. Neither of Darren’s parentshave direct experience of higher education, although both of his siblings have progressed to university. Darren believesthat all of his friends/peers are planning to go to university as well. Since joining Seaview School in Year 9, Darren hasbeen a member of the school rugby team, Senior Student in Year 12 and participated in the Duke of Edinburgh’s AwardScheme. Darren is currently the deputy head boy of his school.

Currently studying A' level PE, Maths and Biology, Sarah is also planning to go to university, followed by a career inphysiotherapy or sport and exercise science. Neither of Sarah's parents have any direct experience of higher educationalthough both studied for O and A levels respectively. Since joining Seaview School in Year 9, Sarah has alsoparticipated in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. In addition, Sarah is the head girl and a peer mentor to a numberof younger students.


A former head of physics and acting head of sixth form, with over 20 years experience of teaching at Seaview School, thecurrent Aimhigher coordinator has had the role for 4 years. The coordinator is supported in the day to day running ofAimhigher by a student advocate (an ex-pupil and current higher education student who is funded through Aimhigher).

Currently, Seaview School receives £10,000 of Aimhigher funding per year. £2,500 of this funding goes directly to theschool to pay for the costs of coordination and the delivery of activity, whilst £7,500 is held on an area level. As activitiestake place, Seaview School submits a claim form to the area partnership, after which funding is released into the schoolaccount. The Aimhigher coordinator at Seaview School feels that this process for managing and allocating funding isboth robust and effective.

The process of planning activities for the new academic year begins in the previous July. Once a draft plan has been formulated,it is submitted to the Aimhigher area in which Seaview School is based for discussion and approval. Despite this process ofplanning, the Aimhigher coordinator at Seaview School does admit that the programme is largely reactive and based uponactivities that are offered to the school (e.g. an opportunity to visit a local university). The Aimhigher coordinator has tried to get

other staff involved in the planning process, but he feels that really there has been little real interest amongst colleagues. Since 2005 Seaview School has run a wide range of Aimhigher funded activities, including hosting the AimhigherRoadshow for two years in succession. The Aimhigher coordinator at Seaview School feels that this is a major success,given the (relatively) isolated location of the school:

“I made sure it was well attended and it was organised down to the last detail. We talked to Head of Year 9 to makesure that the right cohort went along, each group of 15 had a half hour session at the roadshow.” (Aimhighercoordinator, Seaview School)

Other Aimhigher funded activities include visits to Newcastle, Northumbria, York and Durham on STAR days, ACEdays, master classes and residentials; a student advocate; Theatre in Education productions for Year 9 and Year 12pupils respectively; subject specific trips in history to Durham University and local museums; a UCAS convention andinvolvement in the Partners programme at Newcastle University.

Although they have conducted little formal evaluation of Aimhigher (which in itself is recognised as a major weaknessby the Aimhigher coordinator at the school), staff at Seaview School feel that their overall experience of Aimhigher hasbeen a positive one. The Aimhigher coordinator comments that the main strength of the programme has been theadditional funding it has provided for activities that may not have taken place if they had had to be funded out themain school budget. The coordinator also feels that it has raised awareness of higher education (see below), as well asbringing together what may have been quite a disparate/ad-hoc set of activities, “Aimhigher brings the activities andprogrammes together better.” The Assistant Head of Sixth Form at Seaview School feels that by involving subject headsand other teachers in visits to universities, it has made these staff more familiar with higher education.

Sarah and Darren are both aware of Aimhigher and of participating in a number of Aimhigher funded activities. Sarahfeels that the main aim of these activities is:

"...to introduce you to university in a fun way - you go and meet students doing different things, but then you get yourtours of the campuses as well...to me it puts the university over in a really positive way. As well as telling you about thelearning, it goes through all the social side as well." (Sarah, Seaview School)

Darren’s experience of Aimhigher began in Year 11 when the Aimhigher coordinator for the school spoke to his wholeyear group about Aimhigher and the prospects of going on to higher education in the future. As Aimhigher funded andother widening participation activities became available, the Aimhigher coordinator at Darren’s school circulatedrelevant information and asked students if they wanted to be involved. Darren felt that many of these activities lookedinteresting, so he decided to get involved: “I don’t like making decisions without knowing as much as I can, so itseemed a nice way of getting fully informed about HE.”

Since Year 11, Darren has participated in a number of Aimhigher funded and other widening participation activities,including, a Durham University taster day, a Newcastle University taster day in medicine and dentistry and e-mentoring scheme. Darren enjoyed the subject specific taster day at Newcastle University and the e-mentoring scheme alot because they both provided him with the opportunity to speak with current students, “…which was reallygood…you get an opinion from the student.” Darren felt that the activities that involved local universities visiting hisschools were, “…a good way to approach people that aren’t too sure and wouldn’t usually go to a university open day.”

Like Darren, Sarah has also participated in a number of Aimhigher/other widening participation activities, includingvisiting the universities of Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria. Again, like Darren, Sarah is aware of these beingAimhigher activities because they were organised by the schools Aimhigher coordinator. In addition, Sarah applied forand was offered a summer school place, which unfortunately, she was unable to attend. Sarah enjoyed all of her tasteractivities at Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria universities, in particular hearing about the different courses on offer,realising that it’s not all hard work and getting the opportunity to speak with students, “its easier to talk to them aswell, talking to someone who is a bit closer to your age.”

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The Aimhigher coordinator at Seaview School works closely with heads of year and form tutors to select the mostappropriate pupils to participate in Aimhigher funded activities. This selection process involves looking at current andpredicted levels of attainment as well as teacher assessments of a pupil’s background and potential to progress to highereducation. In targeting pupils, the Aimhigher coordinator does not currently take into the account the educationalexperience or socio-economic status of parents. However, given the nature of the area in which Seaview School is based,the Aimhigher coordinator believes that most of the pupils who participate in Aimhigher activities are from areas ofhigh deprivation and families with little experience of higher education:

“In this area we don’t have many professionals – whatever 120 pupils we select the vast proportion would not haveparents in higher education.” (Aimhigher coordinator, Seaview School)

In some cases, for example, a visit to the Historical Society at Durham University for pupils in years 12 and 13, noparticular consideration is given to widening participation credentials of the pupils who participate. In this particularcase, the Head of History at Seaview School commented that:

“It was oversubscribed – I had to take only those doing the history option. Although some were widening participationpupils, those who attended were predominantly pupils who would go on to choose history at university.” (Head ofHistory, Seaview School)

Neither Darren or Sarah felt that there was any stigma attached to participating in Aimhigher funding activities, largelybecause of the way in which (they felt) participation had been offered to the whole school population in years 9 to 11.Interestingly, Darren compares participation in Aimhigher funded activities, which he sees as being essentiallyvoluntary, with the distribution of opportunities at A’ level which he describes as ‘quite elitist’. A comment from Sarahalso provides an interesting insight into the way in which pupils were targeted (or not) to participate in Aimhigheractivities at Seaview School, indeed, her comment indicates that activities were focused on the most academically able:

“We got put into the Gifted and Talented group - I think it was the top 10% in the year group. I got a letter sent homeand then I read it through and decided that maybe I will look at universities and think about what I wanted todo...There was only about 20 of us so we all got invited for it (Aimhigher)…people that weren’t in G&T were brought inif there was space on the buses and things.” (Sarah, Seaview School)


The Aimhigher coordinator and other staff at Seaview School feel that levels of attainment and the attitude of pupilstowards their education have generally improved in recent years. Staff point to the growing number of pupils stayingon in sixth form and applying to higher education as evidence of this changing attitudes. Significantly, the Aimhighercoordinator and staff at Seaview School feel that Aimhigher has contributed to this overall improvement. As in the caseof County School, the coordinator at Seaview School feels that by exposing pupils to a range of activities from Year 9onwards, their attitudes to education and higher education in particular, do begin to change. So, the coordinator feelsthat whilst it is possible to highlight activities that have a specific and immediate impact, for example residentialsummers school, overall the ‘drip drip effect’ is more important; “we don’t see sea changes – it’s just a drip dripapproach…the indication seems to be, for whatever reason, that participation is increasing and we have to take someheart from that.”

Darren does not draw any direct linkages between participation in Aimhigher and his educational attainment. However,with regards to his overall attitude to education and learning, Darren acknowledges that as a result of participating inthe Aimhigher activities above, “…my drive to push for going to university has been increased.” Similarly, Sarah feelsthat Aimhigher and more generally just thinking about going on to university have had a positive impact upon both hereducational attainment and attitude to learning. Indeed, Sarah admits that before she started thinking about progressing

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to higher education, her attitude to learning was getting a little lazy: “I’d say in year 9 and 10 my attitude was getting alittle lazy...But then as soon as I started thinking about university, it sort of settled my attitudes down and made mewant to learn.” More specifically, participation in Aimhigher, Sarah feels, has made her more focused on what gradesshe has to achieve at the end of the year: “I think it gives you something to aim for...when you’re looking at university,there’s nobody pushing you to do it, it helps you yourself, like a target, to give you something to aim for.”


The Aimhigher coordinator and other staff at Seaview School feel that Aimhigher has certainly had an impact upon theaspirations of pupils at the school towards higher education:

“Aimhigher widens the pupils’ perspectives and shows them that there is another world outside…Without Aimhigherfunding the school could not offer these opportunities…I think Aimhigher is ideal for this school because it allows us totake the kids away and see other parts of the region and visit different institutions.” (Aimhigher coordinator, SeaviewSchool).

Activities that are seen by the coordinator and other staff at Seaview School as having a particularly positive impactupon the aspirations of participating pupils include Year 10 summer schools, ACE days and the ongoing work of anAimhigher funded student advocate. With reference to the first of these, the Aimhigher coordinator comments that thesummer schools help to dispel the belief that even going to somewhere like Newcastle is a long way away and a ‘bigthing’. Prior to going away, the coordinator comments, the pupils are full of apprehension, however, “they come backexcited and enthusiastic about university.”

The Aimhigher coordinator at Seaview School also feels that that the main strength of ACE days and the school’s ownstudent advocate is that both provide pupils with the opportunity to meet and talk to current students. In the case of theschool’s own student advocate, the information and messages he can give about university are reinforced by the factthat he is an ex-pupil of Seaview School.

In addition to having a positive impact upon the aspirations of pupils, the Head of History at Seaview School alsobelieves that it has had an impact upon the aspirations and knowledge of parents:

“If you don’t offer experiences then they don’t know – Newcastle is a long way away – this is just a small town. Wehave parents whose aspirations are low and who might not think to take them to places like the Centre for Life or theDiscovery Museum. We realised the need to raise aspirations amongst pupils and parents.” (Head of History, SeaviewSchool)

Overall, the coordinator at Seaview School does feel that Aimhigher has enabled pupils at the school to get a taste ofhigher education at different institutions, in doing so, “it has made these pupils realise that it is accessible to thembecause they are no different from the students already studying there.”

Darren and Sarah share similar positive views and experiences of Aimhigher. Darren, for example, feels that Aimhigherhas consolidated his decision to go on to higher education; “…I think I’ve seen what the university lifestyle is like andwhat it involves. Like I say, it’s consolidated what I already thought I wanted to do.” Furthermore, although neither ofhis parents have any direct experience of higher education, Darren’s family have played an important role in shapingand forming his decisions with regards to accessing higher education in the future. For example, Darren’s elder sisters,both of whom have been to university, have made him aware of the possible financial costs, whilst their generalexperience made him aware that “…I wanted to go through that.”

Darren believes that without Aimhigher, he would have still applied to university to study medicine or nursing becauseof his own determination, self-motivation and the support of his family. As indicated above, however, Darren does feelthat Aimhigher has made him more sure of this and that “having a little taster of university every now and again, sort

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of pulled me along and I think the trips down to Durham and Newcastle really helped.” Overall, Darren feels that hegot as much out of his experience of Aimhigher as was possible, “I’ve gotten a lot out of the stuff I did, so I’m not surethat there’s a lot more could happen.”

Unlike Darren, who had a long term desire to go onto university, until Sarah’s participation in Aimhigher and otherwidening participation activities, she was not considering going onto further or higher education. However, as a resultof visiting a number of different universities through Aimhigher she is now seriously considering higher education, “I’dnever really thought about going to university until – I’m sure my first one was at Northumbria - and I went there and Ithought it would be good, and I started looking at it from there.”

Sarah's parents, neither of whom have been to university, and the experience of her sister, have also played a significantrole in making her realise that progressing to higher education is the right thing to do, as well as being achievable.Sarah feels that her parents have always been supportive, motivating and encouraging, whilst at the same time notputting her under too much strain or pressure. Once it was clear that Sarah would excel at KS4 (GCSEs), Sarah claimsthat it was her mother that suggested she should go onto sixth form and consider going onto higher education. Theexperience of Sarah's sister, who studied A' level in sixth form but decided not to go onto university, has been just asinfluential in persuading Sarah that she did not want to miss out on this opportunity.

Sarah's enthusiasm for higher education is tempered by her concerns that it may have a negative financial impact uponher parents/family and that her time at university will be wasted if she does not get a ‘good’ job at the end of it:

“I think about it quite a bit because I don’t want my parents to be struggling for me to go to university. Last year I wasgetting £10 EMA a week, but my dad got a little pay rise so I'm not getting that any more...so it’s what grants I will beable to get and that sort of thing. You’ve got all this debt and a degree that you’re not using! People that I have seenhave come out and just gone and been a waitress again – I’m doing that now, I don’t want to be doing it even later.”(Sarah, Seaview School)

Sarah’s experiences through Aimhigher have quelled some of these concerns, as well as making her realise thatuniversity can be a positive experience:

“they opened my mind to university, to going - nobody in my family’s been so it never occurred to me. The only thing Iever heard linked with it was debt...once I started going to Aimhigher things, I really did think it would be a goodexperience.” (Sarah, Seaview School)

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CASE STUDY 5: HILLSIDE SCHOOLInstitution and learner background

Hillside School is a mixed 11-18 secondary community school with just under 1,500 pupils. Based in an urban area thatis characterised by high levels of deprivation, a recent Ofsted review described Hillside School as a ‘good school withoutstanding leadership.’ Levels of performance and attainment at Hillside School have continued to improve over thelast 5 years, for example, the percentage of pupils achieving grades A*-C at GCSE have risen from 49% in 2002 to 58% in2007. Over this same period of time average point score per pupil at A/AS/GNVQ has also increased. In recent years,there has also been an upwards trend in the number of applications (and accepted applicants) to higher educationthrough UCAS (Aimhigher North East, 2008).

Louise and Gary are Year 12 students at Hillside School. Currently studying A’ level French, Chemistry, Maths andPhysics, Gary is considering a number of different options for the future, including going to university or a career in theFire Service. Neither of Gary’s parents have direct experience of higher education, although an uncle and other familymembers have been to university.

Louise is studying A’ level English, Sociology and Performing Arts and whilst she is considering going to university,followed by a career as a teacher, her ‘dream job’ would be to become a hairdresser. Like Gary, neither of Louise’sparents has been to university, although an auntie has studied nursing at a local HEI.


Aimhigher has been running in Hillside School for approximately 5 years; prior to this the school was part of anExcellence in Cities partnership. Hillside School receives £11,000 of Aimhigher funding from its local educationauthority and an additional £6,000 of funding from its Aimhigher area partnership which is used to support a pilotCOPE course for Year 12 students. All Aimhigher resources are managed by an assistant head teacher, whilst HillsideSchool’s Aimhigher coordinator focuses upon the day to day delivery of activities.

The assistant head teacher, who manages Aimhigher feels that they have adopted a whole school approach toAimhigher and indeed that these staff feel that the principles underpinning Aimhigher are part and parcel of everydayschool life. Staff feel that student support is critical to the success of Aimhigher, in particular the process of helpingcurrent pupils (and their parents) realise that going to university is an achievable goal. To this end, Hillside School hasappointed two mentors/support workers (one of which is funded through Aimhigher) to work with pupils in years 12and 13. These mentors/support workers provide hands on support as students are considering future education andemployment options. Significantly they are concerned with helping students identify the right route for them, whichisn’t always higher education.

The COPE course, that Hillside School is currently piloting, is also targeted at Year 12 students. ASDAN accredited, thelevel 3 COPE course offers 70 additional UCAS credits to Year 12 students who complete six modules aroundcitizenship (e.g. global awareness) and the development of core skills (e.g. presentations and interviewing). The courseis targeted at Year 12 students who are considered to require extra support in comparison to other AS/A2 students. Thisadditional support is provided by a support worker who provides advice on different aspects of university life and help

with writing personal statements. A key objective of the pilot is to attract and retain students who may not normallyhave considered staying on into sixth form. Staff realise that the COPE pilot is ‘high risk’, however, none of the initialcohort of 15 students has dropped out, and staff believe that a large number of current Year 11 students are consideringthe course as an option in the new academic year.

In addition to these activities, Hillside School is also involved in an area level project that is designed to increase thenumber of boys progressing to further and higher educational through vocational routes, whilst Year 9 pupils fromHillside School have participated in study skills days that are organised by the local authority. In the last academic year,15-20 Year 10 students from Hillside School attended residential summer schools at local universities. Year 10 studentshave also participated in master classes, university visits and worked with student tutors in the classroom. HillsideSchool is also considering taking Year 8 students on visits to local universities.

Gary and Louise are both aware of Aimhigher, but they are not absolutely clear about its purpose. Gary, for example,sees Aimhigher as “trips out and helping you decide what you want to do, things for you to go and learn about highereducation.” Louise comments:

“I don’t really know a lot about it – I know they’ve done activities, lots of things to help us. Putting on things like otherschool classes, revision classes and stuff. Talks about HE, talks in assemblies about college or sixth form, helping us todecide.” (Louise, Hillside School)

Gary and Louise have both participated in a lot of activities, but again, they are uncertain about which were specificAimhigher funded activities. Both Gary and Louise are part of the cohort of students participating in the pilot COPEcourse and both have attended revision classes in Year 11 for Maths, Science and English. Most significantly, Louise andGary have both turned down the opportunity to visit different universities; reflecting on these opportunities, Louisecomments, “…I wasn’t really interested in HE at that point really…I didn’t want to go to uni.” Similarly, Gary did nottake the opportunity to visit different universities in Year 11 because he did not feel ready then to make decisions abouthis future education.


Gary and Louise are both aware that they were specially selected to participate in the COPE course, but they do not feelthat there is any stigma attached to this. In contrast, staff at Hillside School are more concerned about the issue oftargeting and selecting students to take part in Aimhigher activities. With regards to area level targeting, staff at HillsideSchool were unhappy about how the local authority allocated Aimhigher funding to schools, without taking intoaccount the size of the school (i.e. student numbers) and the nature of the area it served. A lack of baseline information,relating to, for example, the higher education experience of parents, has meant that learner level targeting has also beenproblematic for staff.

More fundamental has been the challenge of how to target and select, at the same time as continuing to be inclusive toall. Staff comment that this an ongoing tension within the school, as is the need to balance positive messages abouthigher education, at the same time as realising that higher education may not be the best choice for every pupil:

“the school recognises the political dilemma over the whole issue of channelling all students towards university,although the wider availability of vocational courses does now help.” (Assistant head teacher, Hillside School).

Hillside School has successfully identified a Year 10 widening participation cohort for the new academic year, and thereis a feeling that improved monitoring and evaluation will make this easier in the coming years as the school builds up abigger base of evidence and information.

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Reflecting on their experience of Aimhigher, Gary and Louise both feel that revision classes in Year 11 were ‘particularlyuseful’, as teachers were able to provide more one to one support. Louise’s mother feels that these revision classesprovided her with an environment in which she could work without getting disturbed. Louise also feels that COPEsessions have encouraged her to become more organised with her learning. Staff also feel the COPE course hasimpacted positively upon the attitudes of students that may have left school at 16 and/or never considered highereducation. Overall, Gary considers that he has always had a positive and motivated attitude towards learning and so,Aimhigher has not had such an impact on his already-formulated attitudes’.


Gary and Louise both feel that their participation in the COPE pilot course has had an impact upon the aspirations to goto university in the future, as well as making them more ready for this move, should it occur. Gary comments:

“I wasn’t really thinking of going to university, I was thinking about being a fire-fighter, but with this (COPE) and that,and we’ve find out what it’s (university) all going to be about…I’m now thinking about forensics.” (Gary, HillsideSchool)

Similarly, Louise notes, “…it (COPE) just made me think about my future more as well really because I didn't reallythink about it at all…I just thought ‘God, that's ages away, what's the point in thinking about it now?’ Then when youthink 2 years will fly by.” Indeed, Louise feels that the COPE sessions have changed her aspirations and encouraged herto think more about the future:

“I think about it (her future) more now when I'm doing stuff. Because I don’t want to stay in Newcastle for uni, I wantto go somewhere else - so I’ve been talking to my Mam about moving away when I’m older to go to uni. It’s a lot betternow because I understand it more - I understand what uni is more now because I never really knew.” (Louise, HillsideSchool)

Looking back, Gary and Louise also regret not taking the chance to visit different universities whilst in Year 11 and feelthat it would be better and more useful if this opportunity had been given to them whilst in Year 12, rather than Year 11,“…I would go on trips now, to see if I really wanted to go.” (Gary, Hillside School). Louise’s Mum is encouraging her togo to university, rather than becoming a hairdresser (a career which Louise is still passionate about), whilst Gary’s Mumis concerned that the school is putting too much pressure on him to go to university. Gary, however, does not feel underany particular pressure, nor does he think that he is expected to go on to higher education. His main concern is that ifhe does go to university, he may not be able to pay and end up with a large amount of debt.

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OVERVIEW & CONCLUSIONSThe aim of the pilot research discussed here was to examine the impact of Aimhigher upon the learner identity of asmall number of young people and their schools in the North East of England. Specifically, the research was concernedwith seeking some initial insights into the impact of Aimhigher upon the attainment, aspirations and attitude of learnerstowards higher education. In addition, as a piece of pilot research, the project also sought to provide insights, posequestions and raise issues with regards to the object of enquiry (i.e. Aimhigher) as well as the appropriateness of theresearch methods deployed.

In seeking to fulfil the overall aim of the project, the research team conducted semi-structured interviews with a total of43 participants. On the basis of information gathered in these interviews, the research team constructed five school casestudies, at the heart of which are the views of staff and young learners.

Whilst limited generalisability is a general shortcoming of the case study method, in the context of the schools acrossthe North East as a whole, the five case study schools discussed above do form a representative sample. Furthermore,the young people who that participated within the research are typical of other pupils/students that participate withinAimhigher and other widening participation activities.

Thus, using the five case studies as a base, it is possible to make a number of concluding points about Aimhigher and itsimpact upon the learner identity of young people and their schools:

n Staff and learners’ general experience of Aimhigher is overwhelmingly a positive one. Indeed, in line with the findings of other research (EKOS Consulting, 2007; Hatt et al, 2008) there was general support for Aimhigher amongst the teachers and learners that participated within the study.

n Learners experience Aimhigher as a range of different activities. These activities commonly include residential and non-residential campus visits, master classes, student support staff (e.g. student advocates), attendance at subject specific conferences, participation in aspiration raising/progression programmes at local universities and a variety of other enrichment activities.

n In the context of the emerging Aimhigher Learner Progression Framework (Action on Access, 2008), it is interesting that most activity is focused on years 9-13 and whilst it is planned, there is little evidence across the five schools of this activity being planned in such a way that it would represent a progressive and systematic journey for the learner. The COPE course at Riverview School and the six week Aimhigher learning programme at Hillside School are interesting exceptions to this and serve as examples of how Aimhigher may develop in the future.

n Learner awareness of Aimhigher is very mixed - a majority of learners are uncertain and unaware of the specifics of the programme, including whether the widening participation activities they had participated in were Aimhigher funded or not. Whilst it could quite justifiably be argued that there is no real need for learners to know what activities are Aimhigher funded or not, evaluating the specific impact of the programme will continue to be difficult if participants are unaware of what it is or seeks to achieve. Furthermore, embedding and building strategic support for Aimhigher within schools will also be problematic if there is no widespread knowledge of the programme amongst staff and students alike.

n The views of staff and students diverge on the issue of targeting. The minority of learners who were actually aware of being selected for participation in Aimhigher activities did not feel that there was any real stigma attached to this. Indeed, they believed that that they had been selected on the basis of being the most academically able, rather than on the basis of the socio-economic status of their parents and/or lack of family experience of higher education.

n Currently the approach to targeting is very mixed, however, within the context of a genuine concern that targeting runs counter to and may undermine the inclusive ethos of their school, all of the staff that participated within the research recognised the need to target Aimhigher activities more effectively. With the cooperation of other teaching staff and Aimhigher colleagues, schools are moving towards identifying a specific widening participation cohort. However, as the targeting guidance indicates (HEFCE, 2007:13), effective targeting in the context of Aimhigher, is an iterative process that will emerge over time

n It is difficult to unpack the impact of Aimhigher upon individual or school-wide levels of attainment. Teachers feel that a wide range of factors contribute to this and that attainment would have increased across the whole school without the existence of Aimhigher. Similarly, the majority of learners feel that they were already motivated to work hard and succeed prior to participating in Aimhigher activities.

n Staff and learners feel that Aimhigher does impact positively upon general attitudes to learning and higher education. The key strength of Aimhigher here is that it provides learners with the opportunity to experience higher education. In line with other research (EKOS Consulting, 2007), a majority of the learners in the five case studies presented here highlighted campus visits, residential summer schools and the work of student support staff (who are able to work with them on a one to one basis) as being particularly influential. Teaching staff also see Aimhigher as contributing to increased progression to sixth form and college.

n Staff and learners also feel that Aimhigher has a significant positive influence upon individual and school-wide aspirations towards higher education. Again, staff feel that taster days, summer schools and master classes have a particular positive impact upon the aspirations of learners. These types of activities are seen to be most effective by staff when they are reinforced by more subject specific/personalised interventions both inside and outside of school over a sustained period of time. Again, this is in line with the general direction of the proposed Aimhigher Learner Progression Framework (Action on Access, 2008). Learners agree that these activities are enjoyable and influential when making decisions about higher education, particularly if they provide an opportunity to meet current students.

n Learners feel that parents and families are the key catalysts for the decision to enter higher education. Experiences gained through Aimhigher act to reinforce this decision and smooth the progress of entering higher education. Student support staff, especially if they have direct experience of higher education, play an important role here as they can answer questions and allay fears about higher education (fears about getting into debt continue to be most common). Only two learners felt that it was through their experience of Aimhigher, that they were now thinking about higher education when previously they had not. The remainder were already planning on going into higher education before they participated in Aimhigher.

Whilst valid in their own right, these concluding points need to be examined further as part of a larger research projectthat examines and seeks to evaluate the impact of Aimhigher upon the learner identity of young people. Indeed, theseconclusions may be seen and used as central research questions (or indeed, testable hypotheses) upon which a largerscale (and perhaps more quantitative) research project may be based. Alternatively, the conclusions above may be usedto inform a cohort tracking study where changes in participants’ responses to statements based upon the conclusionsabove are tracked over a period of 3 to 5 years (e.g. Years 9 to 13). The research discussed here has demonstrated thatboth options are viable, as well as highlighting some of the key methodological challenges – accessing staff/studentparticipants and isolating Aimhigher.

With reference to the central concept of learner identity, the case studies appear to confirm much of the existing theory.Specifically, they highlight once again how learner identities change over time (Gary and Louise are good examples of

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this) as learners interact with a wide range of social and cultural stimuli. As indicated already, parental/familyexperience of higher education is particularly influential in shaping the disposition of learners towards their ownprogression to higher education. It is interesting that all of the young people who have family experience were also verydefinite about their own progress to university. Furthermore, all of the young people demonstrate a high degree ofagency as learners - Mark, Darren and Sarah are good examples of this.

Finally, with reference to the main aim of the research project, the case studies discussed here do show that Aimhigherimpacts positively upon the learner identity of individual students, in particular, their attitudes and aspirations towardshigher education. Furthermore, these case studies highlight learner, teacher and parent support for the active roleplayed by Aimhigher in helping young people to progress to higher education.

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REFERENCESAction on Access (2008) Aimhigher Learner Progression Framework Feasibility Study Interim Report, 22 January.

Aimhigher North East (2008) Analysis of North East School Performance Data 2007, March.

Archer, L. (2003) “Social class and higher education” in Archer, L., Hutchings, M. and Ross, A. (Eds) Higher Educationand Social Class: Issues of Exclusion and Inclusion, Routledge, pp. 5-20.

Baxter, A., Tate, J. and Hatt, S. (2007) “From policy to practice: pupil’s responses to widening participation initiatives”,Higher Education Quarterly, 61 (3), pp.266-83.

Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2003) Business Research Methods, Oxford University Press.

Denham, J. (2007) Speech to the Action on Access Conference: 'The Future of Widening Participation', Hotel Russell,London, 11 December.

EKOS Consulting (2007) Aimhigher Area Studies, Final Report to HEFCE by EKOS Consulting, April.

Gillham, B. (2000) Case Study Research Methods, Continuum.

Gorard, S. et al (2006) Review of widening participation research: addressing the barriers to participation in highereducation research, A report to HEFCE by the University of York, Higher Education Academy and Institute of AccessStudies, July.

Hatt, S (2007) Measuring Success: A Guide to Evaluation for Aimhigher, Aimhigher Evidence Good Practice Group,November.

Hatt, S., Baxter, A. and Tate, J. (2008) “’The best government initiative in recent years’: Teachers perceptions of theAimhigher programme in the South West of England”, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 32 (2), May, pp.129-138.

Higher Education Funding Council for England (2006), Widening participation: a review, Report to the Minister ofState for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, November.

Higher Education Funding Council for England (2007), Higher Education Outreach: Targeting DisadvantagesLearners, May, 2007/12.

Higher Education Funding Council for England (2008a) Guidance for Aimhigher partnerships: Updated for the 2008-2011 programme, February, 2008/05.

Higher Education Funding Council for England (2008b) Further guidance on evaluation planning, February, 2008/05,23 April.

Raphael Reed, L., Gates, P., and Last, K. (2007) Young Participation in Higher Education in the ParliamentaryConstituencies of Birmingham Hodge Hill, Bristol South, Nottingham North and Sheffield Brightside, Report toHEFCE by the University of the West of England the School of Education of University of Nottingham, October.

Rees, G. et al (2006) “History, Biography and Place in the Learning Society: Towards a Sociology of Lifelong Learning”in Lauder, H., Brown, P. and Dillabough, J. and Halsey, A. H., (Eds), Education, Globalization and Social Change,Oxford University Press, pp.926-35.

Selby, J. (2007) “Making sure that we can make a difference”, The Times Higher Education Supplement, 26 October,p.12.

Swain, J. (2007) “Identity and Exclusion: motivations, dispositions and identities on adult numeracy courses”, Journalof Access Policy and Practice, 4 (2), Spring, pp. 91-107.

Waller, R. (2004) “’I really hated school, and couldn’t wait to get out!’: Reflections on ‘a wasted opportunity’ amongstAccess to HE students”, Journal of Access Policy and Practice, 2 (1), pp.24-43.

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