This is an opportunity for any advertiser who wants to target or reach prospective students of all ages from the Central region during August & September who will be considering their futures and what their next step will be. Perfect for any Universities or Colleges advertising vacancies on higher education courses, but also perfect for banks or building societies wanting to reach 'freshers' for their student loans or accounts services. Also an ideal opportunity for any travel companies targeting students considering a 'Gap Year' before they enter higher education.

Due to the weak penetration of The Independent in the Midlands and the immense readership of the Express & Star, prospective students in the region are far more likely to turn to Express & Star's Clearing Listing, either in-paper or online at www.expressandstar.com rather than look to The Independent for this information. Therefore any advertiser who places their brand in The Independent to reach prospective students, will only reach a handful in this Central region, therefore the Express & Star's PROSPECTUS supplements can provide the perfect up-weight vehicle.

There are 5 supplements in total over Aug & Sept, with the first one carrying the UCAS Clearing Listing for the region on the 14th Aug to tie in with A-Level results. The supplement has been highly successful over the past two years and as the only National Paper that will carry UCAS Clearing Listings this year is The Independent (& Inde on Sun) it will be even more so. The Independent has the weakest readership of any national press title in the West Midlands. The Independent is read by only 28,550 adults in the region compared to 382,173 adults who read the Express & Star

The Express & Star has bid for and run the UCAS Clearing Listing for the Central region exclusively over the last 2 years and some past advertisers in the 'PROSPECTUS' supplements are as follows : Universities in the region such as Warwick, Staffordshire & UCE Birmingham, but also Universities from outside the Midlands, encouraging students to study away from home, such as The University of Wales. Past advertisers also inlcude Colleges who offer more vocational courses & 'Access' Courses, also organisations that can offer financial help to new students.

This opportunity will enable any advertiser to reach a bright, mainly young prospective student audience in the West Midlands. Your brand can reach them at a time in the life where they're having to make important choices; what career path do i follow? which college course should i do? which university does the best course? should i stay at home and study or move away? should i take a gap year abroad first? will i need financial support to help me with my next step? . . . Your brand can influence them at a crucial time of change & help them shape the rest of their lives.