Meet Jake from Brighton Outreach

Discover how University of Brighton Outreach supports learners across Sussex, from early engagement to university applications and beyond.

Tell us about your role

Our Outreach team works closely with schools, colleges and students to deliver workshops, coordinate activities and provide one-to-one support to young people from a variety of backgrounds that meet our widening participation criteria. I work with local schools and college across a wide geographical area in Sussex from Bexhill Academy in the east across to Littlehampton Academy in the west. The goal is all about providing young people with enough information to make informed decisions about their future, as well as increasing access and participation to higher education for those who are often least represented in the sector.

I am also part of the T Level ambassador network which is a network for colleagues that work in education or business, advocating and speaking about T Levels.  This links directly to my work as almost all of our undergraduate degrees accept T Levels with most accepting any T Level. We understand the importance of work experience and every course at the university offers a placements opportunity, which varies between a term or a year of placement. 

Tell us about the work you do with partner schools and colleges

The University of Brighton has a partnership programme with targeted schools and colleges based on differing widening participation criteria.  Through our partnerships we’ve seen a strengthening of relationships, particularly over the last two years since we relaunched our pre-16 offer and have managed to implement the full programme of activities.  Our programme isn’t just a one-off moment but is part of their secondary education journey. We’re seeing a real impact each year with students recognising ambassadors and staff and recalling information they have learnt in previous activities.  What’s been particularly nice is I’m no longer just a visitor; I’ve become part of the community.  We’re invited to parent and carer evenings and to school events such as their plays.

The work we do with our partner schools and colleges is designed by year groups and includes:

  • Year 7 - the University Game, a conversation focused board game which explores what it means to be a student at university, and all the opportunities that might arise from it.  The session is run in the classroom with our student ambassadors who use their experience to lead the game.
  • Year 8 - the Quest for Balancing a Budget – a card and dice-based game led by student ambassadors and staff.  The game goes through a term at a fictional university where student need to manage a budget and balance different financial, social and study decisions. The game is a mixture of decision making and chance, mirroring the unexpected nature of budgeting in reality, and testing their ability to save money, whilst considering the other key factors of university life.
  • Year 8/9 - The Growth Mindset project – a focused programme working on key skills such as goal setting, typically spread across three separate sessions with the same students and staff, followed by a trip to the university.
  • Year 9 - GCSE Options workshops, getting students to think about their options, goals, and next steps
  • Year 10 - study skills programme for whole year groups. Made up of four sessions, the programme prepares students for their exams by looking at topics such as revision techniques and decoding exam questions.
  • Year 11 - assemblies about next steps, post 16 options and university

We also offer campus visits years for year 7, 8 and 9 for up to 60 students per year group, prioritising WP students. 

With our post-16 partners a lot of the work is based on the UCAS application cycle. The autumn period is filled with lots of personal statement workshops and application sessions.  As the year progresses, we do interview preparation sessions, finance sessions and talks explaining UCAS extra.  Our focus is always on WP students, but we do offer to the wider students in the 6th form or college.  We also organise subject taster days with the opportunity to visit our campuses. 

How do you work with schools and colleges that aren’t part of the partnership programme?

We offer a range of activities which are on offer to schools and colleges that aren’t part of our partnership programme.  We prioritise WP learners and the sessions are free of charge.

We offer three different types of summer schools, all of which are free of charge.  Our in-person summer schools are the most popular and as such, places are limited with WP criteria prioritised.

In addition, we offer online activities on applying to university, choosing the right course, student life, and finances. We'll work with you to tailor our programme of online activities and resources to suit your students.  Activities are delivered by both university staff and our student ambassadors. There is more information here.

Are there open-source resources staff can access to support students and their parents and carers?

Yes! We run parent and carers online talks.  We offer a series of online talks and Q+As which aim to demystify the process of planning, applying and starting at university. The sessions offer impartial guidance about applying to university, funding and finance, getting ready for university and clearing.  The information is relevant to all students, you can find more information here.

Tell us about Brighton Boost

The Brighton Boost is to help students to make the best possible start – by providing funding and support to help with the cost of living and delivering university services.  Depending on the individual circumstances of a student, if they apply to Brighton before 30th June 2026, make us their firm choice and start their course in September 2026 they could get support worth up to £1,000 from Boost to help with first-year study, accommodation or travel costs. Full details are here.

When are your open days?

We hold open days at each of our three Brighton campuses and our 2026 summer dates are 6th  June at City campus, 13th June at Moulsecoomb campus and the 26th and 27th June at Falmer campus.  There is more information here.

Finally, how can people find out more or get in touch?

You can sign up to our teachers and advisers mailing list here. You can email us at outreach@brighton.ac.uk or you can phone our enquires team on 01273 644644.