The department of English and Comparative Literary Studies is committed to diversity, equality and developing access to Higher Education from under-represented backgrounds. This is fulfilled by our Widening Participation activities which include outreach to local and regional schools as well as ongoing life-cycle support to students identified as WP.

Why is Widening Participation important?

At an institutional level the university is committed to supporting social mobility. As part of the University of Warwick’s registration process with the Office for Students the university has produced an Access and Participation plan for 2020 – 2025. An executive summary of the plan can be accessed here.

Widening Participation activities are founded on the belief that students who possess equal talent and potential should have access to the same educational opportunities, irrespective of their background. Furthermore, the student body at the University of Warwick should reflect the diversity of our local and national communities.

For some students, personal circumstances and prior educational experiences have made it more challenging to fully demonstrate their potential through exam results and gain admission to university. The ECLS department’s WP activities programmes aim to raise aspirations and help young people make informed decisions about their future. This is achieved two ways:

1.The department’s outreach programme to local and regional schools which includes the Transformations project, our A level lecture series as well as collaboration with wider faculty and university outreach teams and programmes.

2.We also consider academic achievements in the context of a student’s background during the admissions process, offering eligible students a contextual offer. By providing ongoing life-cycle support to Widening Participation students throughout their university journey, we strive to close the attainment gap at graduation and equip them with the skills and experience needed to access graduate professions.

Through these activities the ECLS department aims to promote social mobility.

Who are our Widening Participation students?

Widening Participation typically refers to students who are eligible for a contextual offer—a two-grade reduction from the standard offer—if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

·Attended an underperforming school for GCSEs or A Levels (or equivalent) or attended a school with a higher-than-average proportion of students on free school meals, an indicator of economic disadvantage.

·Reside in an area with low university attendance (Low Participation Neighbourhood, or LPN) or high levels of deprivation.

·Are a care leaver (automatically eligible for a contextual offer, without needing to meet any additional criteria).

·Successfully completed the Realising Opportunities or Warwick Scholars outreach programmes during sixth form.

·Hold refugee or asylum seeker status.

In 23/24 ECLS had 25 contextual offer undergraduates.

Over the last 5 intake cohorts ECLS has offered 14.4% of students contextual offers which is in line with the average percentage of contextual offers for the whole university (15.1%) and above the Arts Faculty percentage (11.7%).