ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the challenges to equity of access in the UK, outlining the policy responses and the complex issues associated with access to prestigious universities for low-socioeconomic status (SES) students. It demonstrates that engaged scholarship can support the widening participation of low-SES students through the development of a Foundation Year. The chapter highlights the positive impact this engagement has had on student outcomes. In the UK, there is solid, longitudinal data about the positive effects of participation in higher education (HE), not only on the economic status of the individual but also on their health, happiness, democratic engagement, and the life-chances of their children. In an attempt to address inequalities in access to HE, Widening Participation (WP) became a central feature of education policy in the late 1990s; however, since then, with the introductions of fees and the growing marketization of HE, this policy has taken a backseat.
