Participation of Local Areas (POLAR)
The Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) is a Higher Education young participation (18-19 years old) rate classification which indicates Higher Education participation rates at Ward level as quintile bands. The classification was developed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and is used in the allocation of widening participation funding to HEFCE funded institutions.
How was POLAR created?
POLAR was created by comparing within a Ward the actual Higher Education participation cohort over three years obtained from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) against the total potential participants of the same age range within the Ward. This latter data was calculated using both child benefit data and 1991 Census small area statistics.
Additional HE data
In addition to the main POLAR classification which realtes to absolute participation rates, HEFCE have also provided a series of supplementary data at Ward level which relate to various characteristics of young participants in Higher Education
London Aim Higher
Aimhigher is a national programme funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) which aims to widen participation in Higher Education.
The London Aimhigher Partnership is split into a series of regions. These regions are shown on the map along with a classification of the 2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation into the less 20% most deprived Lower Super Output Areas, and the 20% - 40% most deprived Lower Super Output Areas.
POLAR2
POLAR2 is based on a quintile classification that groups 2001 Census Area Statistical Wards according to their rank (1 = low, 5 = high) in Higher Education.
In the Higher Education tab are reported two different quintile classifications. One showing the ranking of young participation. The second one shows the ranking of Higher Education-qualified adults in that particulat 2001 Census Area Statistical Ward.
Where can I find out more?