Supported by: Miles Briggs*, Peter Chapman*, Liz Smith*, Margaret Mitchell*, Gordon Lindhurst*, Murdo Fraser*, Liam Kerr*, Maurice Corry*, Jamie Greene*, Bill Bowman*, Dean Lockhart*, Michelle Ballantyne*, Jeremy Balfour*, Alison Harris*, Tom Mason*, Donald Cameron* *S5M-15203 Lewis Macdonald: New Partnership between the University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen FC Community Trust That the Parliament welcomes the launch of a new partnership — between the University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT), which aims to strengthen the university s links with the city's schools and encourage participation in higher ’ education; understands that it will build on AFCCT s Partner Schools Initiative, which sees ’ Aberdeen players go to schools in the area in a bid to widen access to university courses for young people across the city who might not have been considering higher education; recognises that it will also involve the university s Business School, which will use the example of the club to ’ help pupils develop skills in business and economics; notes that there are plans to expand the collaboration to include placement opportunities for university students in AFCCT and opportunities for skills development for the football club's staff; acknowledges what it sees as the important contribution that AFCCT makes in communities across the city and region, and hopes that this partnership will provide an opportunity for young people to learn new skills, as well as widen access to higher education for Aberdeen's school pupils.