£1.2m education hub announced
A £1.2m education hub is to be launched in the north of Birmingham aimed at supporting more young people into higher education.
Birmingham City University has joined forces with education charity IntoUniversity, to launch the centre in the Kingstanding area, which is expected to welcome over 1,000 students through its doors each year.
The funding will see the Maryvale Community Centre undergo a renovation process to house the centre, which will be equipped with teaching facilities, and deliver community-based education programmes to children in the local area.
Five full-time members of staff will be recruited to the centre to deliver daily after-school academic support sessions to primary and secondary school children, workshops in partnership with local schools, and a mentoring programme with university students and corporate professionals.
Currently in parts of Kingstanding only 13.5% of schoolchildren go on to study at university compared with 78% of young people in parts of Sutton Coldfield.
Professor Clare Mackie, deputy vice chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: “This new partnership is a real milestone for us. Providing increased access to education can make a real difference to the lives of thousands of young people in our city. We are proud that the centre, which will be based in the heart of the community in Kingstanding, will allow access to free services and create opportunities which IntoUniversity have had such great success providing in other parts of the country. This centre is the perfect focus for us to take our creativity and expertise out to our community.”
The centre is set to open its doors this autumn and work to convert Maryvale Community Centre is currently underway.
Rachel Carr, chief executive of IntoUniversity, said: “We are delighted to be opening our first centre in Birmingham in partnership with Birmingham City University. We are looking forward to working closely with families and schools in Kingstanding to support young people with their learning and future options.”
IntoUniversity was founded in 2002 to improve access to Higher Education in parts of the country where people are least likely to go to university.
Birmingham will be the 31st IntoUniversity centre to open in the UK, following the launch of centres in communities in areas such as Brixton, Leeds, Manchester and Coventry.
