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Introduction
GUIDANCE FOR AIMHIGHER PRACTITIONERS
BOOKING THE AIMHIGHER ROADSHOW
The Aimhigher roadshow has now been running for five years, visiting over 350,000 students in
3,000 schools, and consistently achieving a 62% swing in opinion in favour of higher education.
Its success is in no small part due to the effectiveness of local practitioners. Your local
knowledge is invaluable and ensures that the roashow continues to visit the schools and colleges
which need it most. Local practitioners have also been instrumental in encouraging use of the
roadshow visit alongside a range of other events, such as careers days or university visits, all of
which help to generate maximum impact.
These guidelines are designed to give advice and best practice tips to practitioners involved in
booking schools and colleges to host the Aimhigher roadshow, in order to ensure that it
continues to be used to its maximum effect.
These notes cover:
1. Booking in schools and colleges
2. How the schedule is put together
3. Ideas for increasing the impact of the roadshow
1. Initial contact with schools and colleges
The schedule for the 2006-07 roadshow tour is published on 5 June 2006 and Geronimo will
begin to work with practitioners to identify and book in the individual schools and colleges they
would like the roadshow to visit.
What we need from you:
• Let us know by Monday 12 June 2006 who will be the main point of contact for booking in
schools and colleges for each area marked on the schedule, by filling in the Booking Contact
column in the spreadsheet sent with these notes (if you do not have a copy of this
spreadsheet, please let us know, and we will send one)
• The designated contact for each area should then make the initial contact with the schools
and colleges in their area that they would like the roadshow to visit, and agree which date
(within their allocation) they would like this to take place
• Once the venues and dates have been confirmed, please let Geronimo know the details of the
venue, including full address, telephone number, and the name of the contact with which the
event was booked and they will handle any subsequent arrangements.

The deadline for supplying details of schools and colleges booked to Geronimo is
Friday 14 July 2006.
We aim to ensure that schools and colleges are booked as early as possible so that the contact
within the school or college has as much time as possible to plan the event and to make the best
use possible of the roadshow visit. This helps us ensure that the roadshow, as a resource, is
used to its full effect and avoids any last-minute cancellations in the future.
We will liaise with schools and colleges to discuss all practical details. However, some points you
might bear in mind while liaising with them include:
• As our trailer managers have to work within legislation governing maximum working time,
we are limited to 30 miles’ travel each day between venues. We would be grateful if you
could bear this in mind when booking in schools and colleges.
• The roadshow usually takes place on board our specially designed trailer, but it is
possible to run the vent in a classroom option is available if they are concerned the trailer
will not fit. Wherever possible we survey sites in person to ensure that, if it can be
accommodated, the trailer is used.
• As not all school and college contacts are familiar with the Aimhigher programme, it is
worth stressing that students from the school’s Widening Participation cohort should be
selected to attend the roadshow.
Geronimo will then:
• Make contact with the designated Aimhigher roadshow contact in each area marked on
the schedule to make sure they have all the information they need to start booking in
schools and colleges in their area
• Be on hand to offer any advice or information you need to book in schools and colleges in
your area. In addition to normal telephone and e-mail contact, we will maintain a 24-hour
practitioner helpline, ensuring you can contact us at any time you need to
• Make contact with all schools and colleges once their participation has been confirmed with
their practitioner. This includes sending them an information pack, and following this up with
phone calls to discuss the planning of the day, and any particular needs of the school
• Ensure that an Aimhigher pack for teachers and tutors is sent to the school or college as early
as possible, so that Aimhigher lesson plans can be built into the schedule for the year
• Organise a site survey to establish whether the venue can accommodate the Aimhigher
trailer, or whether a classroom needs to be used
• Ensure our roadshow presenter and trailer manager are aware of all the details of the event
and any particular requirements of the school or college
• Respond to any queries or concerns that you or the school may have
• Ensure the event runs smoothly, from arriving at the venue to leaving at the end of the day

• Carry out evaluation of staff and student opinions of the roadshow, and sharing this
information with area practitioners once the roadshow has left their area
2. How the schedule is put together
Each Aimhigher region was consulted on where the roadshow would be best used in their
region. We have done our best to stick to these allocations whilst taking into account logistical
constraints, such as the distance the roadshow can travel between sites.
We hope that by letting you know what dates are allocated to your area as far in advance as
possible, this will give you the opportunity to integrate the roadshow more closely with other
Aimhigher activities.
You will see that a number of dates have been allocated for the roadshow to visit FE and sixth
form colleges and Year 9 pupils in your area. The days assigned to each region has been
calculated using the same formula that HEFCE uses to allocate Aimhigher funding, which
incorporates information such as educational attainment and HE participation rates.
If you would like further information on how the allocation for your region was agreed, please
contact your regional Aimhigher director. Many thanks to all regional directors for their input and
responses.
The 2006-06 roadshow schedule runs as follows:
• 25 September to 17 November 2006: FE and Sixth Form college tour
• 20 November 2006 to 6 July 2007: Year 9 tour begins
However, due to logistical requirements, some FE dates have been plotted during the schools
tour, and a number of Year 9 dates have been plotted during the FE tour
3. Increasing the impact of the roadshow
Research shows that the Aimhigher roadshow has most impact when used in conjunction with
additional events and sustained and individualised activities. Here are some ideas of how you
can work with teachers and tutors in your area to ensure the roadshow creates a long-lasting
impression on students.
If you have any other examples of good practice to share, we’d love to hear from you.
• Encourage teachers and tutors to make use of the Aimhigher pack containing lesson
plans and activity outlines for use with the students. As teachers and tutors have told us
that they can only usually build this into their plans if they receive it in September, it will
help if you can work with us to book in schools and colleges as early as possible. You
may wish to let teachers and tutors know that they can also access an online version of
the pack at www.teachernet.gov.uk/aimhigher/

• Because there is often more demand for events than we have resources for, areas can
choose to share a day between two or more schools or colleges. Students can be
bussed in from other schools or colleges to enjoy the roadshow. Areas that have run
successful shared days include Wiltshire, Croydon, Weston-Super-Mare, Milton Keynes
Wolverhampton, and Nottingham
• Many successful roadshow visits have been arranged as part of a careers day at
individual schools and colleges, offering students the opportunity to participate in
individual careers interviews and presentations from representatives of careers requiring
a higher education qualification. For example, Brighton City College ran the roadshow as
part of a day of careers day, with a range of talks and workshops arranged to provide a
day-long programme of activity for students. Research has found that an individualised
approach to communicating with students is the most effective way of bringing the
Aimhigher message home
• Arrange for a local university, college of higher education or City Learning Centre to
host the roadshow, and invite local schools and colleges to visit for a carousel of
events. This could include campus tours and talks from student ambassadors sharing
their own experiences of entering higher education from an Aimhigher background. In
Lancaster, for example, the roadshow spent several days at Lancaster and Morecambe
College, with pupils from surrounding schools visiting for half a day’s activity including a
campus tour with student ambassadors and a specially designed Aimhigher board game.
This approach gives students a real insight into higher education, reinforcing the
message with personal experience of the higher education lifestyle
• Organise for the roadshow to be hosted by a local attraction or sports club to add to
the appeal of taking pupils put of the classroom, with input from staff or personalities from
the venue, or services such as Connexions. For example, in Burnley, events have been
held at Burnley Football Club. In Nottingham, students were treated to finance and
motivation workshops in addition to the Aimhigher roadshow at a David Lloyd Leisure
Centre. Other venues where successful events have been hosted include the Eureka
Museum in Halifax, the Technical Innovative Centre in Bolton and Featherstone Rovers
Rugby Ground in Pontefract
For support and advice on booking schools and colleges, or to let us know the details of
the schools and colleges you have booked, please contact us on:
020 7299 8754, or 07816 676 545 (24 hours), or e-mail
aimhigher@geronimocommunications.com