A Manifesto for Access

HEPI’s recent report Reaching the parts of society universities have missed: A manifesto for the new Director of Fair Access and Participation (HEPI Report 106) is a valuable reminder of how much still has to be done to make participation fairer. The report, produced in association with the charity Brightside, has some valuable perceptions about the obstacles to more balanced participation, and some interesting ideas about removing them. But it takes too little account of the context in which schools and colleges and universities now have to operate. This means, unfortunately, that much of this effort will prove to be nugatory. This note explains why. More...