
	6th form schools home
	Higher Education Experience

	Background
	Research
	Using HE units
	Taking it forward
	Case studies

	Print this page

Research


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

QCA and UCAS together produce an annual survey of 16-19 provision in schools and colleges. As a longitudinal study, with an average of around 1,000 respondents, it provides valuable data. In the light of the White Paper, questions were added to the 2005 survey to formulate a picture of the extent of HE-linked provision at that point.

Early in 2006 UCAS and the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Oxford conducted more detailed research.

Download 2006 UCAS Report

Download UCAS HE report

Download Nuffield review of 14-19 education

The extent of provision

In the QCA-commissioned work, survey questions were not restricted to the use of HE units but required details of any HE-style experience that students had access to. The picture that emerged indicated widespread use of a range of HE-linked activities, but little use of specific HE units.

Just over half of the respondents reported offering some form of ‘substantial’ or ‘extended’ HE experience to 16- to 19-year-olds, with a high proportion of those centres offering more than one type of experience, and a number offering four or more.

The intention in using the terms ‘substantial’, ‘extended’ and ‘experience’ was to screen out activities relating to the application process, such as choosing a university or completing a UCAS form. However, further research indicated that the primary reason for offering the more extended type of provision was to assist and encourage application to HE.

The aims of providing HE- style experience

The most common aim appears to be raising awareness of HE and what it involves. In addition, centres said that they aimed to:

encourage progression to HE
provide experience of subjects at HE level
improve applications by making them more appropriate to the course applied for
improve results generally
provide additional challenge for the most able
improve preparation for specific careers by developing more realistic expectations
provide an opportunity for students to take responsibility for their own learning
help students manage their time.

There is some matching of students to appropriate opportunities as staff mediate the information that comes into the centre. There is some evidence that vocational students have a narrower range of opportunity than those taking academic subjects.

The nature of provision

With the exception of HE modules, most experiences tend to be within a personal development programme, either as part of a core programme or as an enrichment activity. Some are provided for all students while others are optional or targeted to particular individuals or groups, for example:

the top 10 per cent of the ability range
first generation HE aspirants
those intending to read specific subjects, often in the more competitive areas such as medicine or law.

Within the curriculum, schools and colleges generally provide activities to give all students considering progression to HE the information they need:

choice of HE institution / course
application via UCAS
student life
financial aspects.

Visits to HE fairs or institutions are often included.

Important though all these are, they do not constitute extended, firsthand HE style experience on the part of the students.

Activities that come closer to an HE experience include:

summer schools
taster courses
residentials
preparatory courses for specific careers requiring HE study
projects planned and/or carried out in partnership with HE staff
a series of master classes.

Where HE modules are used, the large majority appear to be OU units. They are popular because:

the structure for teaching and learning already exists
they are easily portable
they can complement or supplement A level learning
some of them are in subjects that represent new advances in knowledge
their length varies and some can be completed between years 12 and 13.

The development of the skills required for HE study, where these are explicit, tends to take place within subject teaching.