Hi! I’m Aaliya, a placement student working at the University of Reading. Since working at the university, I have learnt so much about what the university does to increase diversity and inclusion and I would love to share these insights with more students.  

The Reading Scholars Programme is a flagship initiative by the University of Reading aimed at providing access to higher education for under-represented groups. The programme has grown significantly since it started and has gone from having just 35 students to catering over 500 students each year. In 2022, the programme offered 500 young people a chance to explore 16 different subject strands at the university. 

The programme is designed to help students from ‘Widening Participation’ backgrounds, which refers to students who come from under-represented groups and typically have a lower progression into higher education.  

The programme is highly respected and well-established, and many schools and colleges across the country encourage and support their students to participate every year. We take pride in the programme’s increasing participation every year and hope to see improvements with every cohort. 

As a Reading Scholar in 2020, I didn’t get the full experience of the scheme however, the day I spent on campus before the national lockdown was the beginning of my love for Reading. The introduction to the course was amazing (although it ultimately wasn’t the subject for me), and the students and staff shared stories of their time here and what they loved about their studies. The scheme confirmed that going to university was the right choice for me and that the University of Reading was where I wanted to study. In 2021, I accepted my offer to study at Reading and am still grateful for that chance to experience something new.  

Participants also reported increased confidence and insight into what university would be like. In terms of evaluation, the overall progression to higher education from participants in the programme has remained high (over 70%), however, this percentage has reduced as the number of participants has grown; potentially as the programme is reaching those less sure of their decision to go to university when they start Scholars. The university plans to carry out a deeper analysis of data to allow for better evaluation in the future – and find out more about the factors at play for those students who do not progress to higher education.  

Read the full report: Ten Years of Reading Scholars Reflection August 2023 (PDF, 0.5 MB)