Doing their bit for diversity

The top-rated architecture college

From the Barlett's summer show. Photo: R Stonehouse

The Bartlett School of Architecture, part of University College London, was ranked the top UK architecture school in 2015 (according to the QS World University Rankings), and second in world rankings only to MIT. So it comes as a welcome surprise to find that the undergraduate cohort (70 per cent EU, 30 per cent non-EU) is heavily skewed towards state-educated -- 70 per cent of the EU intake have to be from state schools, while some of the international students are also state-educated. The reason it can afford to prioritise access in this way is partly thanks to its links with UCL -- ranked second for research in the UK. As architecture and urbanism professor CJ Lim, says: 'This [research] has brought in a lot of money, which is shared across the board. It means we can have better resourced equipment, teaching, staff, facilities. We can also afford more scholarships and give greater financial support to students. And students get better value for money.'

To support diversity, the recruitment process has come under scrutiny, according to Mollie Claypool, the BSc architecture programme leader. 'We have taken apart where we recruit from, and we hope that provides us with an opportunity to get as much diversity as possible from the students who might want to come here.' Claypool visits schools to champion the role of architects and to explain what qualities are required. Given the massive drop in state schools offering art or design-based GCSEs and A-levels she wants to widen the qualifying A-levels to include technology and computing. The same scrutiny has been applied to recruitment abroad, she says: 'We have a lot of relationships with institutions abroad that are merit based, not financially based. A lot of students get sponsorships for our MA, and many are not from a wealthy background.'

Trips can be expensive -- the 2015 graduate show highlighted research tours to Brazil, Florida, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Manhattan and Bangkok. Bob Sheil, dean of school, says: 'We cap them at £750, but we put in £250. Everyone goes on Easyjet, sleeps in cars if needs be, and camps.' Shiel says: 'We are big on diversity; we want to bring range, different life stories and cultures to this course.'

The scholarship student

Martin Cornelius Hanly graduated from Central Saint Martins' BA fashion course in June, and within weeks he was installed as a junior designer at Saint Laurent in Paris. His is not a fairytale story but one threaded through with talent, sacrifice and determination in equal measure: he had to commute from outside London because he couldn't afford to live away from home and took part-time work throughout. Clearly a high flyer from early on, he was able to secure work experience with Lanvin, Chanel and Saint Laurent during his year out. For his final year he won the Swarovski Scholarship, which provided him with as much Swarovski product as he wanted for his final show, meaning he could put the rest of his budget into being able to live in London and maximise valuable studio time in the run-up to the all-important degree show.

Says Hanly: 'When I started at Central Saint Martins, I only had the support from my mum and some personal savings. It wasn't until the final year that I sought financial assistance. The support was invaluable: my collection was only realised because of that. I'm not saying that you need thousands of pounds to create a great collection, but mine was rooted in the idea of excess and the working class so it was great to be able to develop fabrics without too much limitation. Other students also received different support, whether it was materials, money or existing garments; some companies are very willing to help young talent.'

Hanley thinks fashion is better supported than many design disciplines through strong industry links and 'better links with philanthropists'. Though CSM 'attracts people who may be fortunate enough to be supported financially and not fear the notion of unemployment', Hanly says he quickly learned 'that talent transcends wealth'. Despite this he is concerned that 'the rising fees and... costs of living in London will have an adverse effect on nurturing talent, as the fear of being unemployable and in debt can be stifling.'