Greater Manchester Higher

The University of Manchester is part of the Greater Manchester Higher collaborative network.

We work together with universities and further education colleges across Greater Manchester to raise the ambitions of young people and increase awareness of higher education through providing impartial information, advice and guidance (IAG), as well as strategic outreach for target learner groups and attainment raising programmes.

Uni Connect 

Uni Connect is a central government-funded programme that supports the government’s social mobility goals by rapidly increasing the number of young people from underrepresented groups who go into higher education. Greater Manchester (GM) Higher deliver the Uni Connect programme in Greater Manchester. The Uni Connect programme is targeted at Year 9-13 learners areas across the Greater Manchester region where higher education participation is lower than might be expected given the GCSE results of the young people who live there. 

Uni Connect aims to: 

• reduce the gap in higher education participation between the most and least represented groups; 
• support young people to make well-informed decisions about their future education;
• support effective and impactful local collaboration by higher education providers working together with schools, colleges, employers and other partners; 
• contribute to a stronger evidence base around ‘what works’ in higher education outreach and strengthen evaluation practice in the sector.

Core programme for schools and colleges in Greater Manchester

GM Higher are committed to offering free outreach activities to priority schools in Greater Manchester which include: 

• campus visits;
• in-school activities;
• parent talks;
• CPD for teachers and advisors;
• Industry Insight and careers days;
• The Wise Up Residential Summer School.

For some activities, we may ask schools to select learners who are underrepresented in higher education such as those who are the first in their family to progress to higher education, are in receipt of free school meals, who have been in local authority care, who have a disability, learning difficulty or long-term health condition or have caring responsibilities. Some schools will be proactively supported by GM Higher in accessing these activities based upon priority criteria. To find out more information about what support your school can receive, contact gmhigher@mmu.ac.uk or visit gmhigher.ac.uk.