LJMU goes extra mile for 'hard to reach' students

Liverpool John Moores University is going the extra mile to support youngsters at risk of missing out on a university education due to the COVID pandemic.

LJMU is one of a pack of universities concerned that ‘difficult to reach’ youngsters may become more removed still from the opportunities of higher education and training.

So we have helped create Uni4me – a website which offers free resources and activities especially for youngsters, their teachers and parents, which was launched by Universities Minister Michelle Donelan this week.

Pete Dolan, a manager in student recruitment and admissions, said the site was specially created to reach out to disadvantaged students distanced from applying to uni by lockdown.

School support vital

Pete said: “Schools have indicated that HE support is vital for their pupils during this period. Uni4Me offer free, interactive activities led by university lecturers to support core GCSE/A Level academic subjects. There are also live events involving leading academics, specialist HE advisors; talks by current students and information sessions for parents and carers." 

Participation in the Uni4Me hub is to be tracked to enable schools, colleges and universities to ensure that those who most need it are benefiting from the resources on offer. The aim is to expand the activities on offer from Uni4Me over the next year and work with more partners from across educational sectors.

Catherine Shillito, who leads delivery of LJMU’s widening access programmes, said: “The ethos of ‘uni4me’ is something that sits closely with LJMU’s core values in enabling young people from all backgrounds the ability to participate, explore and ultimately succeed in higher education. 

“As a team we are thrilled with the variety of online outreach activities we have been able to host on the site and are looking forward to adding to this over the coming months”.

To view the LJMU ‘Uni4me’ site please visit:

https://uni4me.co.uk/institutions/liverpool-john-moores-university/

To find out more about LJMU’s Virtual offer please visit: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/undergraduate-students/outreach/virtual-delivery-outreach-support