There is no single solution or formula that will work for all of our Looked-after Young People, however, completing compulsory education should not be their only aspiration and First Star encourages universities to make early and substantive interventions in their lives. First Star improves lives by partnering with universities and other stakeholders to ensure looked-after young people have the academic, life skills, and adult support needed to successfully transition to higher education and adulthood.
First Star Academies are not academies in the traditional UK sense, instead First Star finds local Looked After Children from around the age of 14 (the beginning of GCSEs) and links them to a university where they are given additional academic support alongside a wider curriculum of life skills up to age 18. This four-year programme of support is provided through monthly campus-based sessions and an annual summer school all with the aim of preparing young people from care backgrounds to seriously consider higher education as an option for them.