Higher Education Fair
All year 12 students from Highgate School as well as partner schools are invited for a higher education evening. This aims to give them a better idea of their options at a higher education level, and they can find out about specific universities and courses that they offer.
Representatives from dozens of universities based in the UK, including Oxford, Cambridge and other Russell Group, as well as a number based in America and Canada have stalls at the evening to inform students about courses the university offers, as well as entry requirements, and general life as a student at their particular university. A representative from a gap-year company may also be present to talk to those students who are considering taking a gap year and inform them of their options for this.
The evening runs as a fair, and students are free to wander around and approach university stalls which they have an interest in. They may receive prospectuses as well as other information leaflets from stalls that they approach.
Aims
- To provide partner school pupils with information about university applications
- To provide students with an opportunity to talk to representatives from various universities and ask any questions they may have
- To encourage students to start thinking about what they may go on to do after school, and make an informed choice when the time comes for them to start filling out university application forms.
Identified Need
Our partner schools have previously told us that they would greatly benefit from the provision of advice and support for students with applications to some of the most competitive universities in the country. In some cases, state school students may be less informed about university options, as well as receive less advice on applications, which has resulted in a disproportionately small number of state school pupils in top universities. In 2017-2018, 89.8% of UK university students came from state schools, despite only 6% of children in the UK being educated in private schools (Higher Education Statistics Agency). Highgate aims to challenge this problem by providing information and advice to a wide range of state school students about university applications.
CSFs
Availability and willingness of a significant number of university representatives to set up stalls for the fair and provide information/ prospectuses to interested students. This requires the engagement of Highgate School with external sources to organise these representatives. Exhibitors often feel more able to attend higher education events in independent schools if a large number of attendees will be from partner state schools.
A number of state maintained sixth forms in the vicinity, ensuring good attendance.
A number of Highgate School teaching or non-teaching staff are required to organise registration for the event, as well as oversee general logistics on the day.
Venue Requirements:
A large space needs to be available for this event to take place, such as a sports hall or other large event space.
Immediate Beneficiaries
Pupils from partner schools and the independent school begin to get an idea of their options after finishing school, and start to think about which courses they may want to apply for, and to which universities they may want to apply.
If partner school staff attend the event, they may leave feeling more able to share this advice with pupils and colleagues in their own schools.
Universities also benefit by attracting highly able and strong potential candidates for their university.
Background
The project has its origins as part of the School’s internal careers provision. In recent years, Highgate has built a substantial programme of support for sixth form students in our local partner schools. In keeping with this, the School made the decision to open this opportunity to those students from our partner schools that would benefit.
The Higher Education Fair is planned by the School’s Director of Higher Education and the decision to incorporate partner school pupils was made through discussion with the Head and the Community Partnerships Director.
Resources
The attendance of representatives from a number of different universities is critical, as well as resources that they bring with them, including prospectuses and/or banners, to be able to set up an information stall.
Members of Highgate School teaching or non-teaching staff are required to organise the event, as well as oversee registration. At the start of the event, at least 3 members of staff should be present to ensure that every student registers and receives a floorplan of the university stalls.
Close partnerships with nearby sixth forms.
A large venue where the event can be held (eg. Mallinson sports centre, dining hall).
Impact
The School aims to continually track the academic journey of the pupils in our partner schools. The Higher Education Fair is a part of a large programme of events, including Careers & Employability provision, Summer Schools and enrichment workshops.
We aim to have the same partner school pupils attend as many of these events as possible and determine academic outcomes in as many cases as possible.
Pupil Involvement
We have a mixture of pupils from the independent school and partner schools, with ratios varying year-to-year. However, there was roughly a 50:50 split of independent school: partner school pupils at the most recent higher education fair.
All the pupils are in Year 12, so are between 16 and 17 years old. All genders take part in the project.
Frequency
This is a single event, which occurs once a year around February/March time, when Year 12s may start thinking about higher education.
We anticipate that this event will continue to run for a number of years. This is one of the many events in which Highgate collaborates with the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham.