Project

Project | Challenging perceptions: letters to pupils from deprived areas, encouraging them to consider university

25 September 2025

TASO is working with King’s College London on a joint initiative to encourage pupils from deprived areas to try university.

Low-income backgroundsAccess to higher educationMentoring, counselling, coachingTransition into higher education

School pupils from deprived areas will receive letters from older pupils from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, encouraging them to try university.

The project – supported by TASO – is led by Professor Michael Sanders and Vanessa Hirneis of the KCL Policy Institute and School for Government.

The initiative involves supporting King’s College London (KCL) students in writing to nearly 10,000 Year 12 pupils across the country, many of whom attend schools in deprived areas. The letters will include stories of the older students’ success, to encourage school pupils to apply to university. This is part of a major initiative intended to make higher education feel more accessible and boost attendance at selective institutions.

The letters encourage the pupils to consider applying to these selective universities, with KCL students sharing personal stories intended to challenge the perception that university is only for the privileged. The letters also highlight the potential benefits of higher education and detail the financial support available through bursaries.

In 2017, research by Sanders and colleagues found a similar intervention increased the likelihood of accepting a place at a selective university from 8.5% to 11.4% – the equivalent of an extra 300 students a year.