WILTSHIRE College students are hosting events over the coming week to encourage local school pupils to think about higher education.

In a collaboration between the College, Wiltshire Council, Aimhigher and Connexions, hundreds of pupils from Wiltshire Schools will be attending one of three Aimhigher visits at the colleges in Trowbridge, Lackham and Salisbury.

Aimhigher is a Government-funded national campaign designed to reach out to young people with little or no family experience of higher education. It involves mentoring, summer schools, open days and visits to universities.

Next week’s events are designed to showcase the opportunities available to the school pupils and to give them advice and guidance on the different ways in which they can aim higher.

Roadshow facilitator James Clarke said: "The aim of the roadshow is to raise aspirations and provide young people with information about Higher Education. Many of the young people I meet are unaware of all the options available to them. The roadshow takes students outside of the classroom environment and provides them with an informative, fast-paced presentation focusing on the different routes into Higher Education and the flexibility that university can offer.

Students from local secondary schools will be at Wiltshire College Salisbury on Thursday.