There is no cost for any Future U activities to parents, pupils or schools. The project is funded by the Office for Students (OfS) and any activity costs including university visits and residential stays, for example, are covered using these funds. OfS have outlined how and where the funds should be allocated and so Future U resources will be allocated in line with this.

Future U is not compulsory, and you will need parental consent to get involved. Some of the activities, such as mentoring, will take part during lunchtimes or after school and so require extra commitment alongside your current studies. Some activities, such as visits to universities and businesses, may take part during school time. There may be some aspects of the project that you would like to take part in and others that you do not. Whilst we encourage all participants to push themselves, you will never be made to do anything you are not comfortable with.

Future U provide fantastic opportunities to enhance pupils’ skills and ultimately their progression to future employment. Pupils will take part in a mentoring programme alongside their current studies which will offer support and advice from HE professionals, current undergraduate students and business mentors. Future U is an opportunity to take part in exciting visits, practical demonstrations and projects which pupils would not otherwise have access to. Please see our news page to see some of the exciting activities we have held so far.

Future U is dedicated to overcoming barriers to progression by tailoring activities around the needs of young people; to do this we need to initially gather views of pupils participating in the project. We may also ask pupils to complete further questionnaires to track their progress and measure the impact of the project. The individual views of pupils will not be shared without consent, and both pupils and parents/carers are free to opt out at any time.

Due to limited government funding and the capacity of the Future U Team, the programme will only target specific groups of pupils who live in Lancashire, meaning that we are currently unable to offer all activities to every pupil/school. If you would like to speak to a member of the team about eligibility, then please just get in touch.