In 2017, we collaborated in a unique partnership with leading education charity IntoUniversity and LFC Foundation to create a new learning centre, IntoUniversity North Liverpool to help young people in Anfield to do better at school and believe in their ability to get to university.
Thanks to our donor and supporter community, we successfully reached the fundraising target of £300,000 for the project in March 2020.
Our original ambition for the Centre was to provide a quiet and safe study place for more than 1,000 young people a year, where they would meet inspirational mentors and get one-to-one academic support. Most importantly, we wanted to strengthen their self-belief in what they could achieve.
Success in Anfield
Since opening its doors, the Anfield centre has provided transformative learning opportunities to students in Liverpool, and has empowered young people from one of the UK’s most disadvantaged areas to make the most of their potential. Since October 2017, and despite the disruption of the pandemic, the IntoUniversity North Liverpool centre has:
- provided essential support to over 3,000 young people through 65,000 contact hours of support by IntoUniversity staff
- helped more than 200 students to progress to Higher Education, increasing the progression rate to 62% compared to the local average of 23%
- supported more than 1,000 students each year to overcome their individual barriers to achieving Higher Education, through a tailored programme of workshops, out-of-school study and one-to-one
While succeeding in school is key to its objectives, the learning centre recognises that performing well academically is not enough. The centre has provided sessions to enable young people to develop the soft skills they will need once they have left school, regardless of the path they choose. This has empowered its students to be ambitious, and connected them with local business people and university students to provide them with real examples they can aspire to.
Positive post-school destinations
Research has shown that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are 50% more likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET) than their similarly qualified but better-off peers. But as young people from disadvantaged backgrounds improve their qualifications, so the likelihood of them being NEET decreases.
Encouraging progression to Higher Education is a key part of how the learning centres address this problem, but we recognise that Higher Education is not right for everyone. The learning centres therefore empower their young people to make the decision that is right for them, whether that is attending university, finding an apprenticeship or entering employment.
While 66% of IntoUniversity North Liverpool school leavers in 2021 have secured places at university, 11% have found employment and apprenticeships. As part of this approach, the learning centres do not only focus on academic skills but run sessions that teach young people about entrepreneurship, job interviews, and independent living.
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