Leeds to Success

Leeds to Success is a sustained outreach programme which supports young learners in Year 7 to Year 11 from widening participation backgrounds.

We offer an extensive range of talks, workshops and on-campus events to inform and inspire your students, promoting the idea that university is an exciting and achievable option. The programme aims to raise the attainment of your students by developing their study skills, confidence and motivation.

Leeds to Success includes activities focused on HE guidance as well as subject and careers exploration which will assist with GCSE and A-Level choices, and support schools working towards the Gatsby ‘Good Career Guidance’ benchmarks.

The student programme is complemented by a parents and carers webinar series which is designed to build trust, confidence and knowledge in those who are supporting a young person’s educational journey.

The programme

Year 7: Universities in the spotlight

Year 7s begin the programme in the summer term with three interactive workshops, delivered in your school. These sessions provide an introduction to university and encourages your students to explore the benefits of higher education. 

In workshop two, our student ambassadors will visit your school to share their educational journey and experiences with your learners, promoting the idea that university is for everyone.

We will also launch our parents and carers programme, delivering an in-school evening session to introduce them to the programme, the opportunities available and what their child will gain from participating.

Year 8: Subjects in the spotlight

In the autumn term Year 8 students will get one in school interactive workshop which focuses on student life. Through this theme the idea of university courses are introduced to students, giving them the opportunity to understand what it means to study a subject in higher education and how this can relate to future careers, as well as what a day in the life of a student might look like.

Students will then visit the university in the Spring term for a higher education experience day where they will be introduced to an exciting range of university subjects and explore the campus with our student ambassadors.

Schools can choose to supplement the year 8 programme with a range of optional taster lecture sessions that are available to be booked.

Year 9: Researchers in the spotlight

Students will have the opportunity to meet researchers from the University and take part in a ‘Researchers in the Spotlight’ project. This project involves student led group work to create their own research focused poster presentation. They will be supported by our Research Skills team who will introduce them to core research skills and explore how these will help their current learning and future studies.

In the summer term, students will visit the campus for a celebration event. Here they will present their research project to our wider university community to foster a sense of belonging. As part of the day they will also work get to explore our campus further and take part in a taster session delivered in one our lecture theatres. 

Year 10: Skills in the spotlight

We will focus on building your students’ transferable skills, helping them to understand how they are used in different careers. We deliver five in-school workshops during the autumn term. These focus on the skills of communication, confidence, leadership, teamwork, and entrepreneurship.

Each session builds on the skills from the previous workshop and the scheme of work incorporates oracy, numeracy and literacy skills within its activities to help students relate their learning to the wider school curriculum.

Year 11: Study in the spotlight

Delivered in the autumn term, our Year 11 programme is designed to support students in their final year of GCSEs (or equivalent).  Three sessions will be delivered in school and cover areas such as revision skills, note taking, exam anxiety and time management.

We will host a Leeds to Success ‘graduation’ event on campus for all those who have completed our programme. Students, teachers and parents will be invited to take part. As part of this event we will introduce the University’s post-16 outreach provision such as Leeds Futures.

Eligibility

The programme is open to groups of 12-16 students, per year, per school, who have the potential to succeed at a Russell Group university. Leeds to Success is targeted at students who meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • in receipt of free schools meals/pupil premium
  • are from ethnic or socio-economic groups which are currently under-represented in HE
  • are a Child in Care or care experienced
  • live in an area with low progression on to Higher Education 

Please note, students do not need to be high achieving for this programme, they need to have the ability to succeed and the enthusiasm to take part. As universities have a wide range of courses and paths available within them, we do not limit students by their academic ability. This programme gives them the opportunity to learn more about post-16 routes and the chance to succeed in skills not traditionally taught in the school curriculum. 

Register your interest

To find out more and explore how the Leeds to Success programme can support you and your students, please email the Education Outreach team: leedstosuccess@leeds.ac.uk and a member of the team will be in touch.

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