Priority group engagement
Find out how our Widening Participation team supports students from our priority groups, including mature students, care-experienced and estranged students, and refugees.
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Our Widening Participation Team is always exploring new ways to engage with key priority groups who are traditionally underrepresented in Higher Education.
Most of our activity in this area currently focuses on mature students, care leavers, and students with experience of being in care. However, we are also interested in understanding the experiences of, and supporting, the following groups:
- Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic students, disabled students.
- Carers.
- People estranged from their families.
- People from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
- Refugees.
This includes being open to requests for engagement from organisations working with any of these groups.
Mature students
Mature students (students who are aged 21 or over at the start of their courses) are a key area of focus for our team, and we are looking to develop our work with students in this community.
We work with mature students through our Colleges Engagement Strategy, and through our progression agreements with Lewisham College, Southwark College, and with OCN and Laser as major accreditors of Access to HE Diplomas in London. Read more about how our progression agreements support mature students.
You can also explore resources and advice in our guide to applying to Goldsmiths as a mature student.
Care leavers and care-experienced students
Care-experienced students are a priority for us as we know that students belonging to this group are significantly less likely to progress to higher education than their peers. Currently, we work with care-experienced students through our collaboration with the Care Leavers’ Covenant, and through our engagement with virtual schools across London.
We are always open to suggestions for how we can better support this group. Care-experienced students and their carers are welcome to contact our team to request a personalised campus tour or other bespoke information, advice and guidance. You can find out more about how Goldsmiths supports care leavers and estranged students, including information about our Care Experienced and Estranged Students Bursary.