About us
The Widening Participation and Outreach team run initiatives to provide students with a sustained programme of academic support, as well as information, advice and guidance.
We deliver projects and activities designed to widen access to the University, and support students to succeed once they arrive. We work in partnership with schools and colleges, with a focus on raising awareness of higher education and supporting student attainment, especially for students who are from areas where people are traditionally less likely to go to university, students who are care experienced, disabled students, asylum seekers, refugees and students from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
We offer a programme of activity which aims to inform, inspire and enable students to excel, whatever their path looks like.
Our activities include:
- Primary programme for Year 5 pupils
- Campus visits linked to current University of Liverpool Research Themes
- Merseyside Young Health and Life Scientists for students in Years 9-11
- Summer Schools for Year 10 students
- Liverpool Scholars Programme for students in Years 12 and 13
- Attainment support for specific groups, including Looked After Children and learners from minority ethnic background
Our activities engage young people, as well as their parents and carers. Our work is supported by trained University of Liverpool students (our Liverpool Advocates) and staff, the Guild of Students, the Victoria Gallery & Museum and Professional Services.
We work with a range of learners, from Year 5 with our primary programme, to our Year 9-11 programme for aspiring medics, to the Liverpool Scholars programme for post-16 students. These programmes are principally delivered to students from our Key Account schools. We also deliver a variety of programmes to targeted groups such as mentoring programmes delivered in the local community.
At Liverpool we recognise that learners have individual needs and some may need different levels of support in progressing to higher education. That's why we work with various targeted groups, including young people from a care background, disabled students, young adult carers, estranged students, asylum seeking and refugee students, and students from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
We work in partnership with a number of organisations to extend our reach to these learners and have committed our support to improving social mobility by signing up to a number of covenants and pledges.
You can find out more about our work and team in the of University of Liverpool Access and Participation Plan, in the reports we publish, or in our Meet the Team section.