SOCIAL MARKET FOUNDATION challenges facing care experienced students, getting more of them into “elite” institutions, with the potential improvements in life chances that entails, is still worthwhile. Recommendation six – targeted support for high-achieving care experienced pupils. The Department for Education should identify the top care experienced pupils at GCSE level each year. They should convene high tariff institutions and representative bodies to develop a comprehensive support programme for these students over the year and a half leading up to university applications, providing tailored support including for example mentoring, open days and orientation events (where all expenses are provided). Institutions should consider also providing a guaranteed offer to study on an appropriate course. Eligible groups: Care experienced, defined as those who have had experience with the care system at any point in their childhood, identified through local authority data Alongside targeted outreach for high-performing students, a Guaranteed Access scheme would help increase access for all, whilst maintaining admissions standards In 2019 Scottish universities announced a new Guaranteed Access scheme, where care experienced applicants would be guaranteed an offer to study if they met the minimum advertised entry requirements. This reform was part of a wider suite of offers for care experienced students in Scotland, where, as one interviewee described, “Scotland [is] always ahead of England in relation to children in care and education”. The number of care experienced young people entering university has risen significantly in Scotland – for full-time undergraduate degree students this represents an increase of almost 300% since 2013, and an increase of almost 50% since the access scheme was introduced (Figure 13). Figure 13: Number of Scottish-domiciled care experienced entrants 2013-14 – 2021-22, by full time first degree and all undergraduate HE intake 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 FT First Degree All UG HE Source: Scottish Funding Council Report on Widening Access 2021-22 60