Teachers and Advisors

If you work at a state-maintained secondary school or college in Greater Manchester, discover how you can help your students access university.

Introducing Access Manchester

One of our goals at The University of Manchester is to open up higher education to all students, regardless of their background or personal circumstances.

Access Manchester covers a range of schemes offered by the University that provide structured learning experiences and pathways to support students who meet specific widening participation criteria access higher education.

How it works

We have five different local and national schemes available to Year 12 or Year 13 students.

Each programme has its own eligibility criteria and application process, so the best thing you can do is explore each individual scheme and check which ones are the most suitable for your students.

Explore the different programmes on our Schemes page.

Watch our Access Manchester introductory video over on the How it works page.

What are the benefits of Access Manchester?

These schemes help to develop the skills students need to prepare for higher education and life beyond school. Depending on the scheme, students may have the opportunity to:

gain real-world insight into the university experience;
build their confidence;
learn what undergraduate academic work entails;
speak to current Manchester students and ask them questions;
learn about research and referencing methods used at university;
feel more connected to university before making the jump from A-levels to first year study;
get the chance to receive a scholarship/bursary upon competition of certain schemes;
enjoy a reduced offer in the A-level grades required to study at The University of Manchester.

Eligibility

Eligibility requirements vary between schemes, and students can check which Access Manchester programme they might be eligible for using our handy eligibility survey. Targeting criteria is also listed on each scheme’s page.

Our schemes are aimed at Year 12 and above, however we advise teachers to signpost these schemes to students from Year 10 as they start to think about their further and higher education options.

Unfortunately students would not be eligible for any Access Manchester scheme if they are:

An international student;
Attending or have attended an independent school.

What else can you do?

If you work in a non fee paying school in Greater Manchester there are a few things you can do to support your students in applying to and participating in our programmes.

Download our Annual Widening Participation Report for more information on access schemes and why we use them;
Stream our pre-recorded presentation on Access Manchester during careers/PSHE lessons;
Register for a live Access Manchester virtual event for your Y11s.