I always said that I would never become one of those widening access practitioners that used my parental experience to inform my arguments or my practice. But here we are. Last week my son had his leavers assembly at primary school. His school – one that I am honoured to be chair of governors of and is surrounding by an ex-miners estate – asked all 33 children to finish the sentence “in twenty years time I want to be…”. I counted that 27 of the children said they wanted to be doing jobs that you would either need a degree for (teacher, vet, police officer etc) or a role that a degree would be very useful for (engineer, rollercoaster designer, scientist) the remaining 6 talked of wanting to be a baker, a teaching assistant, an electrician – all roles where at least level-four education would be valued. The parental observation that I am making is that here in the ex-mining towns of North Staffordshire, aspiration is not in short supply. Yet, how many of those 11 year olds will achieve their aspirations without someone, somewhere, creating a clear and accessible pathway for them?
If you’ve ever chatted with a young person aspiring to become a doctor or a vet, you’ll know those ambitions come with many of hurdles — and not just academic ones. Medicine and Veterinary Science are famously tough to get into, but for students from working class backgrounds, the challenge is even steeper.
The numbers paint a pretty stark picture. The Sutton Trust recently highlighted that Medicine is still largely inaccessible for working‑class students: only 5% of entrants in 2021 came from the lowest socio‑economic backgrounds, and applicants from private schools were 1.5 times more likely to receive an offer than those from non‑selective state schools.
Veterinary Science isn’t much better — the Vet Schools Council reports that applicants are overwhelmingly white (95%), female (80%), and from the most advantaged backgrounds.
So, how do we change that? At Higher Horizons, Keele and Harper Adams, we decided to stop wringing our hands about the problem and start building solutions.
Two Programmes, One Mission
Collaboratively, we run two Year 12 programmes designed to level the playing field: Steps2Medicine with Keele University’s Medical School, and Future Vet with the Harper & Keele Vet School. These aren’t just “a nice bit of outreach” — they’re strategic interventions aimed at dismantling the barriers that keep talented students out.
Students get:
- Real campus visits and taster sessions
- Vocational experience (including clinical placements via the local NHS Trust / domestic and farm animal work experience)
- Interview coaching
- A guaranteed interview when they apply
- And, if successful, a contextual offer with reduced grades, including relaxing usual GCSE requirements
It’s a full, joined‑up journey from first interest to enrolment — and it works.
Evidence of Impact
We now have hard evidence showing these programmes are doing exactly what they set out to do.
For Steps2Medicine:
- 16% of the 2021 cohort progressed to Medicine
- Another 21% went into Medical Sciences
- Compare that to the general Higher Horizons cohort: just 0.13% progressed to Medicine and 0.6% to Medical Sciences
For Future Vet:
- In the pilot year, 11 students applied, 7 received offers, and 4 enrolled (that’s 36%)
- In the second cohort, 12 applied and 5 received offers
- Across the entire Higher Horizons dataset (44,822 students), only 0.07% have ever progressed to Veterinary Science — so these numbers are impressive
Why This Partnership Works
This collaboration is a true “greater than the sum of its parts” story. Higher Horizons brings decades of outreach expertise, school relationships, and a deep understanding of the barriers WP students face. The Medical School and Vet School bring subject knowledge, admissions insight, and — crucially — access to vocational placements that students simply can’t source alone.
Together, we’re able to offer experiences and opportunities that none of us could deliver independently.
Changing Perceptions, Building Confidence
Beyond the stats, the human stories are what really stay with you. One Future Vet participant, now studying at the Vet School, said:
“Future Vet helped me overcome fears that made me apprehensive about applying for Vet School.” Another said “This was a huge factor in me actually getting in”. And another “I enjoyed the practical activities – I had never done things like that before”
Survey data backs this up: understanding of what studying Veterinary Science involves jumped from 33% to 100% after the programme.
Steps2Medicine participants shared similar reflections — one said it “helped me make an informed decision” while another noted they gained “valuable information I don’t think I’d have found out on my own.”
Steps2Medicine is already part of the national UKWPMED collaboration, meaning participants benefit from guaranteed interviews and contextual offers at seven medical schools. Future Vet is exploring similar expansion with other Vet Schools.
We’re also working on the pipeline, running Year 10 Vet Taster Days to help students choose the right subjects for progression — widening the pool long before Year 12, breaking down barriers and creating pathways way earlier than before.
For programmes that serve – largely – the fantastic young people of North Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent, the collaboration that makes Access to Elite Subjects a reality reminds me of the city’s motto – Vis Unita Fortior – united strength is stronger.
Ant Sutcliffe. July 2026.
Associate Director and Lead for Higher Horizons (Part of the Uni Connect Programme)