AQA partners with IntoUniversity to work towards equal representation in higher education

Published: Monday 1 Jul 2019

AQA is partnering with social mobility charity IntoUniversity for a second year, to host a conference exploring quality and diversity in university access.

The event, hosted by the University of Manchester on 3 July, will open with a welcome message from Education Secretary Damian Hinds.

The conference will respond to calls on universities to diversify their intake. Media coverage has been dominated by news of educational under-achievement of the ‘left behind’ white working class, while certain institutions have been challenged to address their lack of offers to students from ethnic minorities.

Delegates will hear about the different barriers facing various ethnic and socio-economic groups from accessing university education and how can they be addressed. The conference will discuss some of these key issues and draw together those working in the sector to consider the best strategies for making university access fair for all.

Keynote speakers are Professor Claire Alexander from the Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity at the University of Manchester, and Sasha Morgan, Director at the Social Mobility Commission.

Panel discussions on the day will look at two key topics:

• Why are white working class boys the least likely to attend university?
• Educational inequalities and race

James Lloyd, AQA’s Head of Policy, said:

“As an exam board, we’re keen to see all young people realise their full potential and make the most of the grades they’ve achieved at GCSE and A-level.

“We’re really pleased to be working with IntoUniversity again to explore the important topic of university access, and to help create equal representation in higher education.”

You can keep up to date with the conference on Twitter via the hashtag #FairEnough and by following @AQA.

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