Background

The North Forum for Widening Participation in Further and Higher Education was set up in 1999 to involve Higher Education Institutions, Colleges and other relevant organisations in the region. 

Since its beginning, the North Forum had a schools programme.  Initially, from 1999 to 2005, the University for Children and Communities (UCC) operated in the North East; however, from 2005, a new schools programme was developed to work across the whole North Forum area.  This was the beginning of ASPIRENorth.  Since then, ASPIRENorth has worked with target schools across the North of Scotland to raise pupils’ awareness of post-school education and to increase pupils’ aspirations. 

Now ASPIRENorth is in the next exciting phase of its history, as part of the national ‘Schools for Higher Education Programme’.  More information on this work is available here.