Student Destinations 2008-2009
6th Form FE College Working Unknown Other
26% 61% 5% 7% 1%
Overall progression to Further Education in the Hodge Hill Constituency is 87%.
Progression to Higher Education Hodge Hill Constituency 1999-2006
1999 2006 Difference
17% 23% 6%
Full time entrants to Higher Education aged 18 to 20 from the Hodge Hill constituency
have risen (an average of 10 students more per year). It should be noted that up to 30%
of the students living in the constituency attended schools other than the six schools in
this sample.
In 1998 there were only 4,604 UK students from unskilled family backgrounds accepted
for degree courses out of a total of 272,340 - 1.69% of the total entry. Non-participation
in Higher Education follows non-participation in school. The period in Further
Education appears to be a critical time for students in Hodge Hill. In this study the
proportion of students aged 16 intending to go on to university exceeds the proportion of
18 year olds who in the past have actually done so.
Universities have actively urged working class pupils and ethnic minorities to enter their
institutions in recent years, through summer schools, campus visits and by developing
partnerships with schools and colleges. The participation of Hodge Hill schools in
summer schools and partnerships with higher education institutions is extremely limited.
Despite the Widening Access and Increasing Participation agenda, access to education
still remains remarkably unequal across social classes.
Nationally at ages 16, 17 and then 18+, there is a greater falling away from education by
pupils from the lower social groups. The attrition rate in one Hodge Hill school is
significant: 15-20 students remained in Year 13 from an initial 100+ on roll. If that is so,
then it may indicate that their experience of social, educational and economic inequalities
make it less likely that these students will develop the character traits that will equip them
for success in future life. Most students end their education with level 2 qualifications. If
these issues were addressed, and students from lower social groups were to stay on in
greater numbers and achieve the level 3 qualifications required for Higher Education,
then participation would be increased. Students also attend courses to claim the
Educational Maintenance Allowance grants (between £10-30 per week), a good source of
income for low income families and this is a primary factor for course attendance.
The students in Hodge Hill appear to lack a mental map of how to progress to Higher
Education. While the students in Hodge Hill have high aspirations they seem to be
unable to navigate a route through success within the educational system as it currently
exists.
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