Born To Be: encouraging more diversity in universities
Born To Be
A new higher education initiative launching in Hastings – Born To Be – will dispel university myths and support families. Hastings has been chosen as the launch town of a brand new university initiative asking local parents to sign up to receive a free University Taster Pack.
Hastings ranks 299 out of 324 districts in the 2017 Social Mobility Index. The index compared the chances that a child from a disadvantaged background will do well at school and get a good job.
The POLAR classification looks at how likely young people are to participate in HE across the UK and shows how this varies by area, ranked from 1 to 5. 1 being areas of low participation, 5 being areas of higher participation. Of the 11 areas covered under Hastings, 6 are classified as POLAR 1, 3 as POLAR 2 and 2 as POLAR 3. In Hollington, the area of Hastings with the lowest participation rate, just 10.8% of pupils go into Higher Education.
Born To Be is a campaign from King’s College London, designed to support families in Hastings to consider university. By providing resources, university students to chat to and lots of hints and tips, Born To Be aims to empower families to begin researching higher education.
Joe Collin, a Widening Participation Officer at King’s College London, explains: “University is a fantastic opportunity. Whatever your background, a hard-earned university degree opens up a world of possibilities and career prospects for your child to explore. It offers the chance to study, learn, work and prosper, empowering your child to secure a bright future.
“But deciding whether to go, where to go, what to study and how to fund your degree can all be daunting questions. That’s why Born To Be has pulled together the University Taster Pack, containing everything families need to begin exploring university.”
The free pack available to parents contains:
Prospectuses from three universities
A ‘Researching University’ checklist
A list of free family extra-curricular learning activities
Top tips on how to encourage learning at home
A student finance fact sheet
Career prospects guidance
Joe adds: “University is just one of those things you have to figure out together as a family, but don’t let anyone tell your child that it isn’t right for them. It’s never too early to start exploring all the opportunities available to your children, so they can work hard, achieve their dreams and go on to be whatever they were Born To Be.”
In addition to the Free University Taster Pack, Born To Be also offers the opportunity to chat to current university students, and sign up to university open days.
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1 Comment
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I think the University Myth needs to be POPPED!
People learn to be academic and unintelligent
I bought into the myth of the wonderfulness and ideal of further education and degree level and university
After leaving school and working and being told “people like me are not for university but factory and toilet cleaning fodder I worked 11 years until I went full time doing a degree after getting enough O and A levels part time. Like many working class people I was well read, intelligent, figured most things out and family full of engineers electricians and talent. You know – the despised.
Got there, what a fairy wonderland it was. All full of ideals and ideas and not much thought intelligence or applicability.
Got my degree plus honours after 4 years
Decided it was a wonderland of waste of 4 years.
People and young people could be doing better and learning skills and abilities and their strength and verve in real world while doing academia skills and knowledge parapatetically or by modulars.
University is a Myth, wasting lives for many years at the height of their pinnacle being in poverty and living like a refugee tramp and now tens of thousands of pounds debt after.
THIS IS A STUPID NONSENSE.
AN IDEAL DREAM WHICH SERVES NOBODY – BUSINESS, THE PERSON OR EDUCATION.
I would like to set up a system for those who did not go to college or university and did not get through, who are thought as failures and scarp heap.
Teach them the skills from being on the job in the job and do the academia, theory science on the side
and then show they can beat the pants off those who went full time
and I am not talking OPen University.
Many top entrepreneurs never went to further education. The saw it, believed in themselves, self taught and GOT ON WITH IT!
University is Myth it can also be a heavy burden stone around the necks of those who never got there. It can represent a permanent failure and expectation of such through life and this needs to be proved wrong.
Comment by June Knight — Thursday, Apr 26, 2018 @ 16:12