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Thousands more WA students will be encouraged to aspire to university education with a doubling in the number of regional and metropolitan high schools taking part in The University of Western Australia's Aspire UWA program.

School principals and deputies from as far afield as Halls Creek and Wyndham visited UWA today when the Federal Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, launched the Aspire UWA expansion. The launch was also attended by the federal Special Minister for State and Minister for Public Service and Integrity, The Hon. Gary Gray MP.

Aspire UWA, which started in 2009 now has 50 participating State, Catholic and Independent high schools from the Pilbara, Kimberley, Midwest, Gascoyne and metropolitan area.

The program targets partner schools in regions where university entry is traditionally low, children from diverse Indigenous, cultural, linguistic or low socio-economic backgrounds, and those who would be first in their family to go to university.

Early results show university enrolments from Aspire UWA partner schools have increased at a higher rate in comparison to enrolments from a group of similar schools.

The federally funded program provides Years 8-12 students with visits by university staff and academics, skills workshops and symposiums, and study tips for exams.

It also includes camps at UWA residential colleges for regional students, specialist support for Indigenous students, and workshops, scholarships and study pathways for students interested in medicine and dentistry.

Today's launch also saw the announcement by UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Johnson of a new partnership between Aspire UWA, the WA Department of Education, Catholic Education WA and the UWA Graduate School of Education (GSE) to create a new position for a Science Teacher-in-Residence at UWA.

The Science Teacher-in-Residence will work with teachers at Aspire UWA schools to deliver a ‘Thinking Science' program that helps students to develop new ways of thinking to improve their achievements in studying science.

The project will be overseen over the next two years by UWA's inaugural Professor of Science Education, Professor Grady Venville, and Assistant Professor Mary Oliver.

Media references

Louise Pollard (Manager, Aspire UWA)  (+61 8)  6488 3646  /  (+61 4) 12 267 148
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783