Welcome to Aimhigher Sheffield
What is Aimhigher?
Aimhigher is a continuing national programme which is now funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) with support from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Aimhigher sits within the whole government 14-19 framework with the introduction of Diplomas, Personalisation, On-line Prospectus, School Improvement Plans and the role of SchooI Improvement Partners.
It grew out of the Excellence Challenge, Partnerships for Progression and Aimhigher 2006-08 initiatives. In Sheffield, funding is available both within schools, academies and colleges and centrally (Local Authority) to support young people from Year 9 to Year 13 in the Aimhigher cohort. Aimhigher aims to widen participation in higher education (HE) by raising the awareness, aspirations and attainment of young people from under-represented groups.
The use of Index of Multiple Deprivation and Polar (Percentage of Young People entering higher education) data has identified that 12 Sheffield schools and academies have over 60% of their Y9-Y11 pupils from postcodes in the 13,000 most deprived Areas and 18 have over 60% from postcodes in Polar Band 1 and 2 Wards (less than 24% entering higher education). This reflects the need to increase Post 16 “staying on” rates and the consequent progression in to Further and Higher Education.
This is further reinforced by KS3 and GCSE results. In 2007, for Sheffield, the percentage of pupils at KS3 achieving L5+ results in English, Maths and Science were 67%, 69% and 67% compared with England Averages of 74%, 76% and 73%. Similarly in 2007 only 52.5% of Sheffield pupils achieved 5 A*-C GCSEs compared with an England Average of 62%.
There is, therefore, a particular need to raise awareness and aspirations to want to continue in post compulsory education and attainment to progress into Further and Higher Education.
The aims of Aimhigher Sheffield 2008-11 are: 
- To enhance the cultural, educational and social experiences of young people from the target cohort through personalised learning
- To create opportunities for young people with the capacity to benefit from Further and Higher Education to achieve their full potential through engagement with FE Colleges, HEIs and their students
- To embed the principles of Aimhigher in Institutional cultures and practices through School Improvement Plans
Latest News
Aimhigher Project Officer
The Sheffield Local Authority are pleased to announce the appointment of Gemma Casey as the new Aimhigher and Gifted and Talented Project Officer as from 5 October 2009.
Gemma has previously worked with Aimhigher as the facilitator for the National Roadshow and has visited schools and FE colleges around South Yorkshire.
National Aimhigher Roadshow
The Aimhigher Roadshow is a DFES initiative designed to promote the benefits and dispel the myths about HE to Y9 school pupils and Y12 FE college students. It is an opportunity to take young people out of the classroom environment and inspire them with an informative, fast-paced presentation by a recent graduate who has just experienced university.
The National Roadshow visited 10 Sheffield schools and colleges in 2008-2009. Below are just a selection of the comments we received from participants:
"Thank you so much for your time today, the sessions are great and the environment created by the unit is brilliant in terms of grabbing the students' attention." Tutor - Birley Community College
"The booklets are great; I can't believe you can study Robotics and Artificial Intelligence!" Students - Firth Park Community Arts College
"Fantastic introduction to Higher Education." Tutor - Notre Dame School
"The students have been speaking to their tutors and doing some research after the session, which is great!" Tutor - Westfield Sports College
"Thank you. Today has been fantastic. It's a brilliant introduction to Higher Education. It has certainly got the students thinking." Tutor - Bradfield School
Please see events and activities for the full/final 2009-2010 schedule
Partnership Agreements
All 27 schools have signed the Aimhigher Partnership Agreement which outlines what is expected from them and what the Local Authority will undertake. Extracts from the Partnership Agreement can be found in the 'What We Do" section. In signing the agreement all schools have agreed to:
"Provide reports to the partnership, including an annual audit of spend/activity, and annual evaluation reports providing evidence of impact, as required by the Area Planning Committee and funding bodies."
