Aimhigher

History and background

The 2003 White Paper ‘The future of higher education’ announced the birth of the Aimhigher programme, which was born from the alignment of two existing initiatives; the Excellence Challenge programme and Partnerships for Progression. 

The April 2003 to March 2006 phase of funding was used to align the two programmes and develop the partnership arrangements offered by Aimhigher.  A further tranche of funding was announced to support Aimhigher during the remainder of 2006 and up to the end of the 2008 academic year.  Following a review in 2007 it was announced that between them BIS, the LSC, HEFCE and the Department of Health would invest to fund a 2008-2011 phase of the programme.  In total, £252,850,000 was invested, including £21,000,000 to fund the new Aimhigher Associates scheme which began in 2008-09. 

In November 2010 it was announced by the Minister for Universities and Skills that funding for Aimhigher would cease from July 2011. 

The role of Aimhigher

 The role of Aimhigher was to widen participation in higher education (HE) by raising awareness, aspirations and attainment among learners from under-represented groups.  

The programme aimed to: 

• raise aspirations and motivation to enter HE among learners from under-represented groups
• raise attainment of learners from under-represented groups so that they could gain the academic or vocational qualifications that will enable them to enter HE
• strengthen progression routes into HE via vocational courses
• offer information, advice and guidance to potential students and their teachers and families

 The programme encompassed a wide range of activities to engage and motivate learners who had the potential to enter HE, but might be under-achieving, undecided or lacking in confidence. The programme particularly focused on children in school from lower socio-economic groups (NS-SEC groups 4-8) and those from disadvantaged backgrounds who lived in areas of relative deprivation where participation in HE was low. 

The programme was delivered through a partnership model where funding and activities were managed amongst schools, further education colleges and higher education institutions by central coordinating bodies known as Aimhigher partnerships.   Partnerships were established during 2004 and became mature entities with stable and secure relationships in place. They enabled a local response to a national problem and facilitated collected and coordinated action from many partners.   During the 2008-11 phase there were 42 partnerships working throughout England and they were unique in spanning schools, academies, further education colleges and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) whilst including local authorities, local health bodies, children’s services, Connexions and other local providers and trainers.  Some partnerships included links with employers through their work with apprentices.  The partnerships were impartial, flexible and able to use their partnership status to enable different people and organisations to collectively respond to changing demands and agendas. 

Four areas of activity received funding allocations in 2008-11; the main Aimhigher programme; Aimhigher Summer Schools; the Aimhigher Healthcare strand; and a new programme, Aimhigher Associates, which was established through a pathfinder phase during 2008-09.  

Aimhigher - information for practitioners

The HEA website hosts resources and legacy materials from Aimhigher, including practical toolkits covering evaluation, targeting, outreach activities and partnerships.  These draw on expertise gained over the life of the programme.  A range of research materials is also available.

Aimhigher contacts at HEFCE

Page last updated 2 May 2012