About Gateways

Gateways provides targeted IAG, academic enrichment experiences, and education-based aspiration building activities for pupils from socio-economic groups less likely to progress into HE. At each visit pupils are able to develop their knowledge of HE, reflect on their aspirations and explore their skills development.

Gateways utilises both school and learner level targeting, with attending pupils expected to meet at least one of the following criteria:

No parental experience of HE
Disability
Experience of Looked After Care
Experience as a young carer.

Schools accepted onto the Gateways Programme are select 12 pupils in Year 7 who match at least one of the above criteria to become their Gateways Cohort. Those pupils will then be invited onto campus for a Gateways day each year from Year 7 to Year 11.

At each visit pupils will be given a chance to learn more about higher education, reflect on their own goals and ambitions (both personal and academic), improve their transferable skills, and engage in academic enrichment activities that broaden their knowledge of the myriad of subjects available for study at HE level.

Gateways the University of Manchester’s flagship pre-16 Widening Participation programme. To understand more about why and how the University of Manchester is dedicated to Widening participation for pupils who wouldn’t normally consider or feel able to access Higher Education visit the University’s Social Responsibility webpages.

For the 2020/21 Academic Year, Gateways will be delivered online. Find out more about our virtual deliver plans here.

Joining Gateways

Gateways is currently supporting 48 schools from Greater Manchester and is full. If you are a teacher and would like your school to be added to the programme’s waiting list, please email us at: gateways@manchester.ac.uk