An account of a special project aimed at addressing recruitment and retention of 16-18 year old students onto both Social policy and Criminology courses at Hull University. It summarises the problems identified at Hull and specific activities piloted to deal with them, initiated by the university's Marketing and Communications department and developed with the Department of Comparative and Applied Social Sciences. It provides a framework with which departments running similar courses can assess their own situation.

This case study forms one of six submitted to SWAP to illustrate ways in which academics use social policy research in teaching. In this case study the lecturer develops students' appreciation of research/consultancy in the discipline by using teaching and learning processes which simulate research processes. She also uses assignments which involve elements of research processes and gives students first hand experience of research based consultancy.