by Lindsay Nygren, AWCC Scotland
Two years into the pandemic, the effects of COVID-19 are definitely being felt in higher education as we begin to see the ripple effect of so much disruption in youth education attainment and wider educational disadvantages. In the United Kingdom, Cambridge University has taken a proactive approach to bridging the gap in attainment levels and instilling confidence in students to pursue an education in engineering or physical sciences.
Cambridge is working to bridge the gap of accessibility for students to top universities regardless of their backgrounds (Cambridge University, 2021). The STEM SMART (Subject Mastery and Attainment Raising Tuition) program, which took on its first cohort of 900 students in January 2022, is a 17-month program run by the university and Department of Education as an initiative to include students who live in high deprivation, students who have been unable to access further mathematics, mature students who are self-studying, and those who have received free school meals at any point (BBC, 2021). As many schools and students continue to face challenges and worsened inequalities brought on by the pandemic, it is the hope that this initiative will contribute positively to society by easing the path to higher learning.
It is the expectation that this program will encourage students who had not previously considered attending university to apply for top universities. Even for those who do not intend to apply for top universities, STEM SMART will strive to help them make competitive applications to other universities’ STEM courses. But far beyond the prospect of applying for a place at a university, this scheme offers students and volunteers the chance to make a change.
With the announcement of this initiative, over 300 academics and current students have come forward to mentor the young students and answer their questions about university life. Fellows at Cambridge will mentor students in their last year and a half of high school through weekly online tutorials, marking work and giving individual feedback and live online motivational lectures (Cambridge University, 2021). The young students will also attend a four-day course in Cambridge and work with a Cambridge mentor to live the life of a Cambridge student and consider applying for a place. This program will complement the classroom learning and provide resources which aren’t readily available, with the promise to give every student the best possible chance to attend university (Farrell, 2021).
The program itself offers the attention and extra time that teachers want to give but are unable to due to the already strained system they work within. Demands on high school teachers were already high, but the pandemic has increased these demands to the point that teachers are unable to offer additional support to their students.
This initiative, in addition to the other schemes introduced in 2022 involving arts, humanities and social sciences, seeks to address the skills shortage in the UK while simultaneously providing students with an opportunity to advance their education beyond what they thought was possible. While the pandemic has certainly taken its toll on the education attainment of these young learners, it is hopeful that this initiative will bridge the gap to higher education. Even once we are through the pandemic, it would be a hope that this initiative and others like it continue to reach disadvantaged youth and encourage their application to education at the university level.
References
BBC, 2021. Cambridge University Stem support for Covid-hit students. [Online]
Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-58396945
[Accessed 09 02 2022].
Cambridge University, 2021. More than 900 A-Level students will join STEM SMART widening participation programme. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/more-than-900-a-level-students-will-join-stem-smart-widening-participation-programme
[Accessed 09 02 2022].
Farrell, C., 2021. Cambridge academics to provide additional learning to U.K. state school students following Covid school disruption. [Online]
Available at: https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/21944
[Accessed 09 02 2022].
