Higher Horizons+

Higher Horizons is a partnership of universities and colleges working together to enable aspirations in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire. Our teams, based across Keele, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Harper Adams Universities, work with young people to create pathways through further and higher education and into employment. We are funded by the Office for Students to work in areas with low rates of progression to higher education. We currently run two outreach programmes.

Higher Horizons+ works with a targeted list of schools in the areas with the lowest rates of progression. It targets students who have been identified by the government as having a low chance of progressing to higher education based on where they live.

The Outreach Hub provides a single point of contact to all schools and colleges in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire and aims to connect them to outreach opportunities available locally and further afield. We work with a number of local organisations and employers to develop new programmes for young people across the area.

Shaped by our Progression Framework, our activities help to raise and enable the aspirations of young people, assist with attainment, and help learners build confidence, pathways and networks. We can also help schools and colleges with their statutory obligations too. Our activities can help you achieve the Gatsby Benchmarks and build a portfolio of evidence for OFSTED.

All of our activities can help you meet Benchmark 7: encounters with further and higher education, but we can also support other Benchmarks as well, such as Benchmark 4: linking curriculum learning to careers, Benchmark 8: personal guidance, and Benchmark 5: encounters with employers.