17 October 2007
John Denham, UK Secretary of State for the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills has announced that every secondary school in England is to be partnered with a university. Jersey schools, however, have benefited from such links with UK universities for a number of years.
Senator Mike Vibert, the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture explains that “specific partnerships are in place between every 11-16 school and a university as part of a widening participation programme which aims to raise the aspirations of local students and introduce the idea of higher education. As well as this, sixth form schools on the island have signed up to agreements with certain universities such as under SCIPA, the Sussex Channel Islands Progression Accord which links students with the Universities of Sussex, Brighton and Chichester. Such agreements result in perks such as guarantees of offers or interviews, preferential accommodation choice at university, and in some instances bursaries for Channel Island students.”
The 11-16 school partnerships were initially formed in 2000 and have gone from strength to strength. Le Rocquier School is linked with the University of Brighton and every year there are visits from admissions tutors and academics who lead lessons in a variety of subjects, an annual 3 day visit to the Brighton campus where students learn about life as a university student, and the year culminates in an ACE day which introduces Year 9 students to the idea of higher education. Nicole Walls, Head of Careers at Le Rocquier School says “Our students have benefited tremendously from our link with Brighton over the last 7 years. The change in students’ attitude towards higher education is always so noticeable and we have seen some successful progression of students on to Brighton, the idea having been introduced early in their school life.”
Assistant Director for Schools and Colleges, Mario Lundy says “it is encouraging to see that once again Jersey is forging the way ahead. A programme that is now being introduced nationally has been successfully operated in the Island since the early 1990s and is continually being strengthened and developed”.
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Notes to Editors:
1. The 11 -16 School partnerships are:
Le Rocquier School – Brighton University
Grainville School – Portsmouth University
Les Quennevais School – University of Exeter
Haute Vallee School – University of Plymouth
Hautlieu, Beaulieu, De La Salle, Jersey College for Girls, Victoria College and Highlands College all have strong links with a number of universities across the UK and have signed up to specific “compact” agreements with certain universities so their students can benefit from these partnerships.
2. More detail on the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills calls on universities to partner schools can be found on their website.
3. For further information, please contact
Andy Gibbs, Head of Careers & Work Related Learning on 449455
gov.je