Narrowing the HE gap: Hello Future helps 25,000 11-18s across Cumbria

Aiming to reduce the gap of higher education participation between the most and least represented groups, Hello Future is a partnership led by University of Cumbria of 16 education and skills organisations from across Cumbria and Lancashire. Hello Future is one of 29 Uni Connect partnerships around the country funded by the Office for Students.  

Founded in 2017, each year the Hello Future partnership works in a sustained way with thousands of learners. They deliver interventions, workshops and experiences to develop knowledge, understanding, confidence and skills that support and encourage young people to progress to a range of HE opportunities. 

Data from an evaluation of Uni Connect nationally shows that such activities have been well received by state secondary schools, with most school staff (82%) stating they would continue to engage with attainment-raising activities in the long term and most thought that such activities would contribute to positive outcomes for young people. 

Not only has Hello Future reached a key milestone in its outreach work, but its focus has also resulted in several successful projects that aims to improve educational, health and societal outcomes and opportunities for young people. 

They include: 

Reading Project: As part of its Attainment Raising programme, Hello Future and University of Cumbria delivered a reading project with Year 7 learners in two schools in Cumbria in 2023 - in Barrow-in-Furness and Carlisle. After an extensive evaluation, improvements were seen in a range of reading skills across the participants. Learners also reported increased confidence with their reading and studying. The programme, which is being rolled out across more schools, is shortlisted in this week’s Educate North 2025 Awards. 

In 2023-24 Hello Future delivered the Breaking the Mould project for the first time. This multi partner, collaborative project​ was developed to work with Year 8 Cumbrian boys based on locally gathered insights around boys’ education and career choices. The project aimed to tackle specific challenges in rural Cumbria, including gendered and traditional industry norms and a lack of knowledge about the different routes into HE. Now in its second year, Breaking the Mould aims to expose boys to a wider range of career and education choices and routes, and involves further education partners including Furness, Carlisle and Lakes Colleges as well as the University of Cumbria, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and BAE Systems.  

My Future Selves: This award-winning project saw the live reporting of data insights across cohorts of learners, enabling the Hello Future team to better understand and tailor interventions. Data collected also allowed the team to measure the impact of the programme in a more bespoke way, which saw Hello Future positively report change from year to year in learners reporting increased knowledge of HE and improved skills for HE access.  

Multi Partner Campus Visit Day: Events for Year 9 learners have been held on the University of Cumbria’s Fusehill Street campus, welcoming HE providers, employers and Cumbria Careers Hub. This event will be repeated in summer 2025 following positive feedback from learners, school staff and partners. 

Hello Future Outreach Officer (Barrow and South Cumbria) Jack Todd (left) said: “We work with amazing schools, students and teachers across Cumbria, delivering opportunities and projects that are making a real difference to their lives and future prospects.  I’ve really enjoyed working on the Breaking the Mould project with 30 Year 8 boys, to challenge gender stereotypes in education and careers by working closely with our partners to show them the wealth of opportunities available. 

“It is so rewarding to see the impact you make and I’m particularly proud to see - over the years I’ve been involved - how learners have transitioned into further and higher education.” 

Jamie Robinson, Assistant Headteacher & Careers Lead at St John Henry Newman Catholic School in Carlisle, said: 

“Hello Future has had a real impact on our students. The programme has opened their eyes to careers and courses they might never have considered before. Through engaging assemblies, workshops and visits, our pupils are developing the confidence to think more ambitiously about their futures. 

“We’ve seen students become more curious, ask better questions and start to make informed decisions about their next steps. It’s helping to break down barriers and build real aspiration.” 

Karen Kelson, Assistant Headteacher (Personal Development) at St Benedict’s Catholic High School in Whitehaven, said: “Hello Future is a great asset to our students. We’ve benefitted from support in a whole variety of ways. We’ve had a wide range of workshops to help pupils to see all future options and how to pursue them. 

“We’ve also had various events together for our families including talks about university finance when have helped those who have not had a family member go to university before, helping to challenge misconceptions about HE funding.” 

Iain Hook, careers lead at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The UHMBT Careers Team is proud to work in partnership with Hello Future and our collaborative approach has provided excellent learning opportunities for hundreds of learners. We were delighted to attend Multi Partner Campus visit days and also to host a number of Year 8 boys from across the patch at our 350 Careers in Health & Social Care Careers Fair in autumn 2024.” 

Hello Future chair Dr Jonathan Eaton, Pro Vice Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at University of Cumbria, (left) said:

“Through collaboration, the Hello Future programme is making tangible and transformational differences to the lives of our young people here in the county, helping them to explore their future and progress towards higher education.  

“Raising aspirations and participation in higher education is among the reasons why University of Cumbria was established in 2007, and we are delighted that the fabulous team, partnerships and projects across Hello Future are doing just that - of and for Cumbria and its young people, now and for its future generations.” 

Looking ahead in 2025, Hello Future is developing an apprenticeship project designed to offer students access to higher-level Level 2/3 apprenticeship opportunities. This initiative aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of diverse career paths available to them. 

• Hello Future and the University of Cumbria will be attending the Educate North Awards 2025 taking place in Manchester on 3 April, where their Reading Project is shortlisted in the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion category. 

ENDS