WIREDGOV

As of yesterday high flying sixth formers in North East Wales and the South Wales Valleys will benefit from additional support aimed at helping them gain access to the UK’s most prestigious and respected universities.

The Welsh Government’s ‘Seren Network –Supporting Wales’ Brightest’ programme formally kicked off yesterday with the launch of partnership hubs, one covering the Wrexham and Flintshire area and one covering Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil.

The programme has been designed to ensure that Wales’ most academically talented 16 and 17 year olds are able to access the information, advice and guidance they need to make competitive applications to leading universities.

The partnership hubs will also ensure that  participating students, who are invited by their schools to join the Seren Network are exposed to other high achieving and ambitious young people and are given the opportunity to work in an environment where they are stretched,  challenged, inspired  and supported to achieve.

Education Minister, Huw Lewis said:

“We know that the right advice, guidance and support is crucial in ensuing our most  able pupils successfully navigate the university admission process.

“We also know that historically students have successfully accessed top universities because they were lucky enough to have a teacher who was well acquainted with their chosen university’s admission process or because they had been lucky enough to secure some high profile work experience.

“Through Seren we want to remove any element of luck from the equation and ensure all our academically gifted learners are given the opportunity to develop their skills, confidence and intellectual thinking and are encouraged and supported to access first class universities .”

More than 120 pupils are expected to attend the launch of the Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Seren hub, while over 90 have been invited to participate in the launch of Wrexham and Flintshire hub.

Stephen Parry Jones, Hub launch co-ordinator of the Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Hub said:

“Whether they want to go to Oxford or Cambridge, to an ultra-modern university like Warwick, one of the power houses in London like Imperial or LSE, or whether they want to stay in Wales with all that’s going on with the higher education scene,  we have to give our brightest students all they need to make the right decision for them.”

A third Seren hub, covering south east Wales, will launch next month while activities are also about to begin in Swansea,  Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. The Welsh Government is expected to announce additional hubs over the coming months with a view to ensuring national coverage and  that all schools and sixth form colleges have links to a hub network by the start of the 2016/17 academic year.