Each year the shortlisted nominees for the NEON Awards gather at the Palace of Westminster for the presentation of the NEON Awards. The 2024 ceremony took place in December.
NEON Awards provide a platform to celebrate the successes and accomplishments of NEON’s members, and their learners in widening access to higher education and enabling social mobility. Previous winners have found that winning an award has not only provided recognition from other widening access practitioners but has raised the profile of their work within their own organisations and has helped gain them greater institutional support. Each year we receive around 100 nominations across the categories. The nominations are then scored by a judging panel, before announcing the shortlisted nominees who are invited to the ceremony.
NEON has received almost 80 nominations across seven categories.
NEON Widening Access Initiative (Outreach) Award
Future You, Kent and Medway Progression Federation (Winner)
HealthReach – UK Recruitment and Outreach, University of Reading (Commendation)
The Discover Course, University of Sheffield (Commendation)
NEON Widening Access Initiative (Retention and Progression) Award
Exeter Rise, The University of Exeter & upReach (Winner)
Diversity Mark, University of Kent (Commendation)
The Personal Learning Advice Service, The Open University UK (Commendation)
NEON Widening Access Partnership Award
Guildhall School of Music & Drama, RADA, Theatre Peckham & Young & Talented (Winner)
University of Oxford’s Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach department (UAO) & Rare Recruitment (Commendation)
NEON School or College Widening Access Award
UTC Swindon (Winner)
Hall Park Academy (Commendation)
The Discovery Academy (Commendation)
NEON Student of the Year Award
Charlotte Stevenson Stoddard, University of Salford (Winner)
Kendra Sneddon, Queen’s University Belfast (Commendation)
Lucy James, Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (Commendation)
NEON Higher Education Institution of the Year Award
University Academy 92 (UA92) (Winner)
Queen Mary University of London (Commendation)
University of Southampton (Commendation)
NEON Contribution to Widening Access Award
Alison Griffin, University of West London (Winner)
Karim West, University Academy 92 (Commendation)
Martha Collins, MidKent Colleges (Commendation)
Please find the Awards’ criteria, by which all entries are judged, by clicking here.