The Access Project

16/09/2026

Did you know that care leavers will no longer have to pay to apply to go to university or college through UCAS? 🎓

For young people applying in the 2027 UCAS cycle, the care leaver fee waiver is an extension to the existing free school meals fee waiver. It has been introduced to attempt to encourage more care leavers to apply for university.

According to figures from the Department for Education, only 13% of care leavers progressed to higher education in 2023/24, in comparison to the progression rate of 46% for other pupils.

If you're supporting a young person to apply for university through UCAS this autumn and think they may be eligible, find out more on the UCAS website 🔗 https://loom.ly/6HAIInE

An overview for those supporting eligible applicants applying to undergraduate courses.

14/09/2026

ICG + The Access Project = An award-nominated partnership!

It was an honour to attend the Third Sector Awards alongside our partners at ICG last week. We were shortlisted for the Medium Corporate Partnership of the Year award, and though we didn't take home the gold, we're immensely proud for our partnership to be recognised at such a high level.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

12/09/2026

Shanah Tovah to all of our Jewish students, colleagues, and supporters observing Rosh Hashanah 💚

11/09/2026

When Year 13 student Sophie had the opportunity to write for our website, she jumped at the chance to further explore the subject of child language development: a topic she is very passionate about 🗣️.

Sophie is studying English Language, English Literature and Computer Science. In the future, Sophie would like to study English at university and become a secondary school English teacher.

"Children from a lower socio-economic background will have fewer opportunities to access a language rich environment, due to limited access to resources such as books and trips out. This is, quite frankly, unfairly damaging to a child’s linguistic growth; not only can it reduce the chance of communication with a diverse range of people, but it can also stunt vocabulary growth."

Read the second in our student blog series, 'Child language development matters', at the link in the comments below ⬇️

10/09/2026

This , we're encouraging our generous followers to leave a gift to The Access Project in your will.

In years to come, social mobility is predicted to continue to decline, making it harder for young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to attend university. By leaving a donation in your will, you are protecting students’ futures and changing the course of young people’s lives.

Make education your legacy - and you'll help young people across the country get the education they deserve.

Find out more about leaving a gift in your will 🔗 https://loom.ly/hg5gLcQ

08/09/2026

Access to education isn't equal - and that extends beyond university.

A new report by The Social Mobility Foundation reveals that degree apprenticeships are 3.5 times less accessible than Russell Group universities. A young person from a wealthy area is 375 times more likely to access a finance degree apprenticeship than a peer from a low-income area.

Opportunity shouldn't be limited by a postcode lottery.

At The Access Project, we're committed to supporting young people to find routes to education and training that are best suited to their aims for the future. We will continue to tackle inequality in education, levelling the playing field in both traditional university courses and on developing degree apprenticeships.

07/09/2026

One in five children in the UK live with digital poverty.

This , we're joining the call for action to help millions of people who are still disconnected.

Digital access is key to education. We're extremely grateful to work with organisations such as Good Things Foundation, Jangala, Reconome, Virgin Media O2, Three, and Vodafone to help provide internet access and equipment for young people on our programme. 👏

04/09/2026

Your support will make a world of difference.

This Saturday marks the International Day of Charity - and we're asking our generous followers to consider making a donation to our The Access Project.

When you donate, you're helping young people like Maharly to access the high quality education they deserve. In August, Maharly received her A level results - and is delighted to be off to university in September, thanks to support from people like you.

Give today and you'll help a young person like Maharly to overcome barriers to education and achieve social mobility.

Make a donation 👉 https://loom.ly/kflPMcE

01/09/2026

Happy new (school) year!

Best wishes to all the students, teachers, and other colleagues heading back to school this week. We're looking forward to another year of empowering young people to succeed in education and beyond ✨

28/08/2026

Two weeks may have gone by but we're still buzzing from A level results day! ✨

We felt very privileged on the day to celebrate with our Year 13 students across the country, including these pupils at one of our partner schools in Enfield.

We are so proud of all of our students who will be embarking on the next stage of their educational journeys next month. It's wonderful to see their hard work paying off! 💚



📷 Lucy Bilcock