Link-up will help pupils aim higher

SHOWING teenagers how good their life could be if they took all the opportunities available to them is the target of Aimhigher Week.

Oldham is joining Aimhigher partnerships up and down the country to celebrate the success of the programme that has shown 75,000 Greater Manchester youngsters what a better future could look like.

Aimhigher encourages teenagers to take what they love doing and build it into a career through higher education via trips to universities, summer schools and meeting professionals in their chosen career field.

A week of activities, which starts on Monday, will see Saddleworth School visited by the Key 103 bus to give pupils a chance to meet staff and find out more about radio.

A groundbreaking scheme — Aimhigher Associates — that links current university students and graduates with youngsters who have the potential to go far will also be launched.

Bass Abdul, from Aimhigher in Oldham, said: “The scheme will support the building of long-term relationships between university students and pupils in Oldham before they take their GCSEs.

“Aimhigher Associates is unique because we aim to pair school pupils with an undergraduate student who comes from a similar background.

“This means the associate can empathise with the anxieties felt by pupils whose families don’t have a history of higher education, and provide practical advice based on their own experience.”

David Lammy, Minister of State for Higher Education, said: “We have invested £21 million in supporting Aimhigher Associates so that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds can meet mentors who can give them a better understanding of what university is like, and guide them through the application process.

“It has never been more important to get more young people from challenging backgrounds into university.

“During these difficult economic times we must focus on training our upcoming workforce, giving them the skills that will be so vital in securing our future economic success.”