Maintaining Access to Architecture: A Scottish Perspective

Widening access to education has been a central priority of the Scottish Government since 2010, with the objective of assisting those from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter higher education. Accordingly, the Scottish Funding Council introduced the 'ACES' project that specifically seeks to increase access to the creative arts and architecture. In parallel, a new educational system has been developed in Scotland over the last decade, titled 'Curriculum for Excellence'. Its introduction has raised concerns of underrepresentation in curricular areas such as art and design, and consequently of a potential limiting of access to architecture education. In response, Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen developed a joint project between its schools of Architecture & Built Environment and Art & Design, involving partnerships with regional secondary education providers. This paper explains the ACES project at RGU, and raises broader questions provoked by this work about the accepted orthodoxies for entry to architecture education.