A taste of university life gives local teens a chance to excel
The University of Birmingham celebrates the tenth anniversary of its Academic Enrichment Programme this week, as it welcomes the latest cohort of students to its summer school. Every year the University of Birmingham hosts the Academic Enrichment Programme (AEP), a summer school for 100 Year 12 students from across the Midlands designed to help those from less advantaged backgrounds apply for places at Russell Group universities. Since the start of the AEP in 2005, over 350 students who took part went on to study at the University of Birmingham, with 250 going on to study at other Russell Group institutions. Over 25 per cent of students on Birmingham's AEP from the 2010-2013 cohorts achieved A* and A grades in their A Levels, compared with only 12.8 per cent average for England. The students attend a week-long residential course at the University, experiencing life as a student, living in halls of residence and attending lectures. The course is split into four broad academic streams: humanities and social sciences, business, physical sciences, and biological and health sciences. The courses are designed to offer students the chance to experience lectures and academic sessions in their area of interest to increase their confidence when they come to apply for university in Year 13.
