{"id":157315,"date":"2025-09-24T10:21:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T10:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/157315\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T10:21:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T10:21:07","slug":"it-changed-my-view-the-letter-campaign-urging-pupils-in-deprived-areas-to-try-university-higher-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/157315\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It changed my view\u2019: the letter campaign urging pupils in deprived areas to try university | Higher education"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cDear Rahamat, first of all congratulations! I remember the day I got my GCSE results. The potential for your life to change has just begun.\u201d<\/p>\n

So begins a letter from a young medical student, Kemi Adeyemi, which has been sent to Rahamat and thousands of other sixth formers with top GCSE results in some of England\u2019s most deprived areas, to encourage them to consider going on to university.<\/p>\n

It is part of a new government letter-writing campaign, which will see almost 10,000 pupils at schools and colleges with some of the lowest progression rates to higher education receive personalised letters, written by students from a similar background.<\/p>\n

\u201cI write this to you from my final year of medicine at King\u2019s College London (KCL) as a working-class student from a not-so-good area who was in care, went to state schools and was on free school meals,\u201d Adeyemi writes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let financial considerations hold you back when choosing the right course and university for you,\u201d she says, detailing the financial support available through bursaries. \u201cDon\u2019t ever feel like those spaces are not for people like us.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she concludes: \u201cBest of luck, and congratulations in advance for all you\u2019re going to achieve, Kemi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each letter is written by a KCL student who shares their own story to challenge the perception that university is only for the privileged.<\/p>\n

According to the Department for Education, privileged pupils are almost twice as likely to go to university<\/a> as their disadvantaged peers, while teenagers in Redbridge, London, are almost three times more likely to progress to higher education than their peers in Knowsley, Merseyside.<\/p>\n

Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said the initiative was part of Labour\u2019s drive to break the link between young people\u2019s background and success, with further details to come in a white paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalent, aspiration and hard work \u2013 not postcode or background \u2013 should decide a young person\u2019s future,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cUniversities need to do more to make sure they\u2019re reaching the most talented people in our country wherever they come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research in 2017 showed sending a letter from a current university student to a sixth former from a similarly disadvantaged background increased the likelihood of accepting a place at a selective university from 8.5% to 11.4%, the equivalent of an extra 300 students a year.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Adeyemi \u2013 now a resident doctor \u2013 came face-to-face with students from Christ the King Aquinas sixth-form college in Brockley, south-east London, who received her letter. \u201cIt\u2019s so important that young people know that their background doesn\u2019t determine where they can study,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result of the letters, I hope students feel empowered to apply for university and that they know they deserve to be there just like anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Dragan, 17, was one of the pupils who received Adeyemi\u2019s letter. He had been considering doing a degree apprenticeship to avoid large amounts of student debt, or returning to Poland for university because it is free.<\/p>\n

Adam Dragan feels he is better informed about bursary schemes and support thanks to the letter he received. Photograph: Sean Smith\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I learned all about the bursary schemes and contextual offers [which adjust entry requirements to take into account background circumstances and potential barriers to academic achievement],\u201d he said. \u201cIt made it feel accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Adam\u2019s hoping to study economics and management at the University of Oxford. He said Adeyemi\u2019s letter had given him a new perspective. \u201cIt changed my view of what\u2019s achievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaira Freeman, 17, who wants to study forensic psychology, said the letter she received had made her more aware of the financial support available. \u201cIt made me feel confident there are options out there to help students who might need financial help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaira Freeman is the recipient of one of the letters in the scheme. Photograph: Sean Smith\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

David Zheng, 17, who wants to study law, has been saving for university for seven or eight years. \u201cI was worried how I would pay the fees.\u201d His letter from a KCL student called Daya, who studied sport and exercise medical science, opened his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me feel a bit more confident, reading other people\u2019s experience of university, telling them they are not alone on their journey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cDear Rahamat, first of all congratulations! I remember the day I got my GCSE results. The potential for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-157315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}