New opportunities for disadvantaged pupils: the step-up programme

In the UK, the link between low income and poor educational outcomes has been long established. The Step-Up programme, which was initiated in Northern Ireland in 2000, was conceived and developed as a specific response to the under achievement and non participation in higher education of socially and economically disadvantaged secondary school pupils. In addition to raising educational aspirations, the programme aims to raise pupil and school performance in science in order to enable pupils to gain entry to and complete programmes of study at higher education institutions. The programme actively involves the University, schools, industry, the local hospitals and government agencies in the delivery of a highly structured programme of academic and vocational science activities. The pupils who have participated in the programme have achieved outstanding success with over 97 per cent progressing to universities across the UK. The retention/completion rate for students who have progressed to the University of Ulster stands at 95 per cent, which compares favourably with national and international retention rates. The authors suggest that this level of success has been achieved through appropriate pre university preparation and post university support and they provide recommendation for the successful replication and implementation of the programme in other institutions.