About us
Inspiring Choices is a higher education outreach partnership - one of 29 partnerships within the Office for Students’ Uni Connect Programme. Since 2017, our mission has been to close the gap in higher education participation between the most and least represented groups. To do this, we provide tailored support and outreach to young people who live and study in York and North Yorkshire.
We work with local secondary schools and colleges and community groups, offering impartial guidance on the full range of routes into and through higher education (HE) in the form of workshops, activities and events. Our aim is to help young people overcome barriers to accessing further and higher education. These include those related to academic attainment, sense of belonging and lack of knowledge about their future options.
Find out more about the Uni Connect Programme Meet the Team
Programme overview
Our work is split into four areas:
Higher Education Outreach Workshops: Workshops on a range of HE and employability topics delivered either in school or on an HE campus. Delivered primarily to schools and colleges in geographic areas in York and North Yorkshire where participation in higher education is low or lower than expected given local GCSE attainment.
Attainment Raising Projects: Projects which focus on developing academic skills and subject knowledge so that attainment of young people is not a barrier to HE progression. Delivered primarily to schools and colleges with low attainment-8 and progress-8 scores, or in geographical areas where KS2 and KS3 educational outcomes are low.
Strategic Outreach Projects: Projects for groups of young people in York and North Yorkshire whose lived experiences may cause additional barriers to educational and career progression. This includes young people with SEND, care experienced young people, military service children, and young carers.
Bespoke and Third Party Activity: Schools and colleges are given the opportunity to apply for some funding which can be used to develop learners skills or attend visits that would assist with the learners curriculum learning. Schools are also offered the opportunity to take part in bespoke activities organised and delivered by Inspiring Choices.
