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What is Widening Participation?

The aim of Widening Participation is to eliminate inequalities in Higher Education for people from different backgrounds. In our Access and Participation Plan (APP) we assess and address gaps between groups of people before, during and after their time at St Mary's. This forms part of our regulatory commitment to the Office for Students (OfS). The full text of our Access and Participation Plan (2020/21 - 2024/25) can be found here: 

Access Participation Plan 2020/21 - 2024/25

The table below contains a summary of our targets and the expected progress towards them:

Target Table - Access & Participation Plan 2020+ 

You can find the result of the most recent APP Monitoring Outcome (for 2019/20) here, together with the Impact Report for 2019/20:

 St Mary's University, Twickenham - 2019-20 APP Monitoring Outcome

APP Impact Report

 Some information about each stage of the student lifecycle covered by the Access & Participation Plan (APP)  can be found here: 

Access to Higher Education 

In WP Outreach and WP Recruitment work, we support people before they attend university. We help people to make informed choices about their future, and remove barriers they may face to accessing Higher Education. We particularly support groups that are underrepresented in Higher Education (e.g. young people who are Care Experienced, or Mature students).

Success during Higher Education

All of our students deserve an inclusive learning environment where they can reach their full potential. Student success encompasses the attainment of students from all backgrounds at St Mary's, as well as the retention/ continuation of current students on their courses.

Progression after Higher Education

Students from underrepresented backgrounds can face challenges in their careers after graduating. Our Careers Service provides support for students at St Mary's during and after their course, aiming to make this as fair as possible for everyone.