Go Higher West Yorkshire has worked with C&K Careers to explore the impact of Covid 19 on the delivery of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG). The research, which was funded as part of the OfS Uni Connect programme, also considered how things might look in the 2020-21 academic year. The research, undertaken in […]

What’s was HE Week? In West Yorkshire we’re really lucky – we have 13 Higher Education (HE) institutions right on our doorstep. These include three specialists (a college, a university, and a conservatoire), three University Centres, and a Russell Group university, along with six other top places you can study! There really is something for […]

At GHWY, we are aware that – as well as the considerable effort of supporting current students and staff – our HE provider partners are working hard to ensure fairness and clarity for all applicants. We understand that the current circumstances may present uncertainty: we have therefore developed this Covid-19 web page to provide you […]

In accordance with recent government advice, Go Higher West Yorkshire has decided that our physical events and activities scheduled to take place between now and the end of May will be postponed or delivery moved online where possible. We are looking into alternative methods of achieving activity outcomes, more details will be published when they […]

With the deadline for UCAS applications recently closed, Max Clayton – a Year 13 student at New College, Pontefract – has been inspired to apply for engineering courses at university as a result of taking part in a national initiative. The ‘Fast Trackers’ project was led by Network Rail and Mott Macdonald and ran from […]

Go Higher West Yorkshire is delighted to present two opportunities for learning and development as part of a  race, inequality and education mini-series.  Both sessions feature  Professor Vini Lander,  Director of the Centre for  Race, Education and Decoloniality in the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University.    As a mini-series, the sessions are […]

Over 300 people accessed exclusive resources or live streamed events during GHWY’s Higher Education (HE) Week.    The online event, which ran between 1-7 February, built on the success of last July’s inaugural HE Week. It significantly developed our virtual platform and introduced a brand new on-demand feature, which means that more students can access the materials […]

Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) has published a new report presenting impact and insights from a CPD approach to engaging with key influencers of care-experienced young people.  Care to go higher: Equipping key influencers of care-experienced young people is written for a cross-sector audience across higher education and children’s social care (CSC), making several recommendations for […]

Staff from across GHWY’s member institutions recently came together to develop responses to two consultations by the Office for Students that had a county-wide focus.   The calls, which have implications for GHWY’s work, saw staff from across the partnership contribute to a West Yorkshire picture on the potential impact on our local area. Whilst institutions are best-placed to provide […]

October saw the inaugural meeting of the Go Higher Strategic Communications Group, which brings together senior and strategic staff from across the partnership to support and disseminate common messages and themes.  A two-pronged approach has been agreed by the group that will support member activity to reduce inequalities in access to, success in and progression […]

Kirklees College, which is one of 13 partners in Go Higher West Yorkshire, has opened a new learning facility dedicated to higher skills and higher education in Dewsbury. The Pioneer Higher Skills Centre will offer a wide range of vocational courses in areas such as art and design, business, computing, counselling, teaching and hair and beauty. […]

An online event to understand and address the care experienced student retention gap, with consideration to the Covid-19 context, was attended by colleagues from local authorities and higher education (HE) members from across Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY).  ‘Turning the curve on care experienced student retention’, which was held in the run up to National […]

Castleford Academy has been nominated for an award that celebrates success in widening access to higher education (HE). The school, which is part of Go Higher West Yorkshire’s (GHWY) Uni Connect (UC) programme, has been shortlisted in the NEON Awards. This is in recognition of the measures it has in place for pupil premium, academic […]

GHWY is pleased to have an article published in the journal Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning. ‘Reframing widening participation towards the community: a realist evaluation’ draws on data collected from Higher Education Progression Officers (HEPOs), our schools and college based colleagues. It explores the ways in which their roles and their work function to ‘normalise’ widening […]

GHWY’s innovative Care to Go Higher programme is featured in the Office for Students’ topic briefing about care leavers.  The briefing contains the best available evidence that the independent regulator of higher education (HE) is aware of to support students to succeed. It includes examples of how providers have supported outcomes for care leavers and looked-after children that other organisations may find helpful when […]

Over 800 people accessed information or live streamed activities during GHWY’s inaugural Higher Education (HE) Festival Week.   The online event, which ran between 13-17 July, featured a wide range of activities that showed young people what HE options are available in the region. These included tips on making decisions, blogs on different subjects, information about […]

Leeds College of Music has announced a name change that reflects the diversification of its offer.  The institution, which is one of 13 partners in Go Higher West Yorkshire, will be renamed Leeds Conservatoire from 3 August. This follows its decision to launch programmes beyond music, to include drama and performing arts.  Established in 1965 as Leeds Music Centre, it […]

The strength of Go Higher West Yorkshire’s working model is highlighted in the Office for Students’ ninth coronavirus briefing note on outreach activities.   The higher education regulator has released a series of briefing notes over the past few months to help the sector respond to Covid-19. The latest one looks at how universities, colleges and […]

Over 500 works of contemporary art, animation, illustration, graphic design, fashion, textiles, creative advertising and photography will be digitally displayed as part of Leeds Arts University’s undergraduate degree show.  ‘Leeds Arts University Show 2020’, which marks the culmination of three years’ studio-focused creative study by final-year undergraduate students, will be launched on Wednesday, 1 July and […]

Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) is developing a new five-year strategy that will cover the period of the upcoming Access and Participation Plans.  The new agreement, which will run from January 2021 until July 2025, will ensure the consortium’s work remains relevant to its 13 partners. These span many different types of HE, each of […]

As part of our mission to enhance and understand the use and impact of the Care Leaver Covenant in the community, GHWY has developed a pack of reflective resources for key influencers of care experienced young people.  These additional resources are designed to help people who live, work with or support care experienced young people […]

Go Higher West Yorkshire recognises that this is a difficult time for young people, particularly care leavers and estranged students. We have therefore produced a document that signposts those studying without a family network to appropriate guidance and other resources based on mental health / wellbeing difficulties they may experience during lockdown. The resource includes links […]

A £1.8bn devolution deal has been secured for West Yorkshire.   The agreement, which was confirmed by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in this month’s Budget, will devolve a range of powers and responsibilities to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. These will support the region to improve living standards through investment in skills and transport, tackling the climate […]

Leeds College of Building has beaten off stiff competition to be named ‘Apprenticeship Provider of the Year’.  The College, which is one of 13 partners in Go Higher West Yorkshire, scooped the accolade on 3 March at the national FE Week & AELP AAC Apprenticeship 2020 Awards.  Over the last decade the College’s focus on […]

In the latest of our ongoing programme of HE outreach for looked after children, Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) welcomed foster families to the University of Bradford on 14 March to informally explore an environmentally-conscious study and career path.    Focusing on the design and production of renewable energy, academics from within the University’s mechanical engineering department […]

Fourteen foster carers and staff from children’s homes and leaving care teams in Bradford and Leeds graduated from GHWY’s Care to Go Higher pilot CPD programme in February 2020 after successfully completing the series of sessions. GHWY developed the programme in partnership with Leeds City Council, who committed to facilitating the participation of foster carers […]

2019 has been another successful year for GHWY, with our collaborative activities building on and developing our key objective to improve access to, success in and progression from higher education for those from under-represented groups. At the start of last year we welcomed Leeds College of Music into the consortium. Our 13 members now span […]

As part of an increasing focus on evidence-based practice in widening participation, Go Higher West Yorkshire has launched a new opportunity for partners to contribute to and learn from a collaborative evidence base. Together, partners will review and summarise the learning from pertinent academic papers and research reports within a facilitated online structure. Over time, […]

An information leaflet that supports young fathers with HE interests has been produced by Leeds Trinity University and Young Dads Collective North. The booklet is one of the outcomes of a collaborative project between the two organisations called ‘Young Fathers: Higher Education Experiences’. Funded by Leeds ACTS!, researchers investigated the HE experiences and aspirations of […]

Islamophobia Awareness Month takes place every November to deconstruct and challenge the stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. Go Higher West Yorkshire has created a book of case studies that highlight the achievements of British Muslims in a wide range of sectors, whose careers have benefited from progressing into higher education. We firmly believe that higher […]

Research tells us that improved connectivity and communication between local authorities and higher education can improve care leavers’ access to HE and their experiences of transition. On the morning of Wednesday, 11 December 2019 at the University of Leeds, Go Higher West Yorkshire is bringing together representatives from both sectors. This innovative event aims to […]

Go Higher West Yorkshire is participating in Estranged Student Solidarity Week (ESSW) for a second year, which in 2019 runs 25-29 November. We are using a delegated campaign model, providing various refreshed materials for partners to adapt and use on their own campuses and social media during ESSW and beyond. Since the launch of the […]

Leeds City College officially opened its state-of-the-art drama facility at its new Quarry Hill campus with a special performance in partnership with Leeds Playhouse. The 200-capacity theatre hosted ‘Influence’, a new youth driven play by Andy McGregor that showcased the talent of local creatives. The production saw the College’s facilities, students and staff collaborate with […]

Castleford Academy has had an exceptional start to the academic year celebrating being the first secondary school in the country to receive an Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ rating under the new and more challenging framework! From September 2019, Ofsted has refocused its inspections of schools, to make sure that learners are receiving a high-quality education that puts […]

Following its initial launch in 2017, GHWY has completed the Care Leaver Covenant’s second update.  This follows input from partners developing their own offer and refining details that will help us to continually improve care leavers’ access to information on their entitlement to support in HE. This year we have seen a number of partners […]

Bradford College is in the running for two awards that celebrate social action, and community and employer engagement. The GHWY partner has been shortlisted for Pears #iwill Award for Social Action and Community Engagement. The award will celebrate an outstanding example of a college’s ability to engage in social action and engagement in their communities. […]

The University of Bradford, one of GHWY’s 13 partners, has been named the UK’s University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2020 by The Times and Sunday Times. The national award recognises the University’s impact on social inclusion which ensures that all students are supported to achieve their potential and achieve success, regardless of their […]

Black History Month takes place in October and Go Higher West Yorkshire is proud to support this celebration of Black achievements in British society. The annual event originated in the United States in the 1920s and nearly 100 years later it is marked worldwide. It was first held in the UK in 1987 and has […]

GHWY’s innovative Care to Go Higher pilot programme has been successfully launched with a group of foster carers and children’s home workers from Leeds and Bradford. The training programme, which aims to equip key influencers to support a care experienced young person to make informed choices about their education, held its first session at Leeds […]

Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) is working with Leeds Community Foundation to provide funding to communities as part of a larger programme to increase the number of young people progressing into Higher Education from areas where progression rates are currently low. GHWY is a consortium of 13 Higher Education partners (colleges and universities) which aim […]

Students are receiving their exam results this morning, and signing in to UCAS Track to see if their place at university or college has been confirmed. A record 17.3 per cent of 18 year olds (18,900 students, which is also the highest on A level results day) from the most disadvantaged backgrounds (POLAR4 quintile 1) […]

The University of Bradford is participating in a new quality framework pilot project for institutions that work with young care experienced people. The quality mark, which was developed by the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL), was launched at the House of Lords on 22 May 2019. Delivered in partnership with UPP […]

New recruits at West Yorkshire Police will study for a degree at Leeds Trinity University from spring 2020, under a new apprenticeship programme. Three hundred new police officers are being recruited by West Yorkshire Police under a new training pathway, which requires all police officers to hold a degree. The trainees will be educated and […]

A new Centre for Social Justice report into the persistent poor outcomes for care leavers highlights the commitment Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) has shown to the group. The ‘12 By 24’ publication makes several recommendations to increase the number of care experienced young people entering higher education (HE). These include developing a ‘Gold Standard’ […]

Thirty-five primary teacher training students at Leeds Trinity University recently benefited from a guest lecture about the education of care experienced children. Jancis Andrew, Head of the Virtual School for Children Looked After at Leeds City Council, aimed to develop an understanding of how the students can play a part in transforming the learning experience […]

Learner Voice Live draws together young people from a range of GHWY NCOP partner schools to share their experiences of taking part in participatory outreach projects. Presented by students themselves and with special performances, we are excited to showcase the highlights from a range of NCOP activities.

We are delighted to officially welcome our new partner, Leeds College of Music, to Go Higher West Yorkshire. As a leading conservatoire with a strong history of partnership working and commitment to widening participation, it is an excellent addition to our partnership, further broadening the already impressive range of opportunities open to potential Widening Participation […]

Go Higher West Yorkshire is a partnership of 12 Higher Education Providers, and we operate the HEFCE-funded National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) in our region. Across our partners, provision includes a diverse offer of progression opportunities for people of all ages to access Higher Education – including apprenticeships, diplomas and flexible degree programmes alongside more […]