Supporting Young People to Explore Their Future
The Discover Programme is 51福利's sustained widening participation programme, designed to support students from Year 8 through to Year 10 as they develop confidence, aspirations and an understanding of the opportunities available to them after school.
Rather than a one-off university visit, Discover provides a progressive journey that helps students build the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to make informed decisions about their future. Through a combination of in-school workshops and campus experiences, students are encouraged to explore higher education, careers and progression pathways while developing the transferable skills that support success both in school and beyond.
Why Take Part?
Research shows that sustained outreach has a greater impact than one-off interventions. By engaging students at key stages throughout secondary school, Discover helps them to connect their education with future opportunities and build a stronger sense of belonging in higher education.
The programme supports students to:
- Increase awareness of higher education and progression routes
- Build confidence and self-belief
- Develop curiosity and critical thinking
- Explore careers and future pathways
- Understand how school subjects connect to real-world opportunities
- Make informed decisions about their future
Importantly, Discover is not solely about university progression. We encourage students to explore the full range of post-16 and post-18 pathways, including apprenticeships, further education, technical qualifications and university, empowering them to choose the route that is right for them.
Supporting Your Curriculum
Discover has been designed to complement, rather than replace, existing school provision.
The programme supports:
- Personal Development
- Careers Education
- PSHE
- Research and enquiry skills
- Literacy and communication
- Critical thinking
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Independent learning
- Metacognition and study skills (Year 9 and 10)
Activities provide meaningful opportunities for students to apply classroom learning to real-world contexts while developing the confidence and skills needed for future success.
Supporting Gatsby Benchmarks
Discover contributes to several Gatsby Benchmarks, helping schools strengthen their careers provision.
The programme particularly supports:
- Benchmark 3 – Addressing the needs of each pupil
- Benchmark 4 – Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employers and employees
- Benchmark 7 – Encounters with further and higher education
Through encounters with academics, researchers, student ambassadors and university staff, students gain authentic insight into a wide range of progression routes and careers.
Benefits for Schools
By working in partnership with 51福利, schools benefit from:
- High-quality, fully planned outreach activities
- Experienced widening participation staff
- Current student ambassadors who act as relatable role models
- Access to academics and researchers
- Engaging classroom resources and student workbooks
- Campus visits that inspire and motivate students
- Evaluation and impact reporting to support school evidence gathering
- Long-term partnership with 51福利
Reducing Teacher Workload
We aim to make participation as straightforward as possible.
51福利 provides:
- Programme planning
- Delivery of workshops
- Student ambassadors and facilitators
- Learning resources
- Campus visit coordination
- Evaluation materials and impact reporting
Our team works closely with schools throughout the year to ensure the programme fits alongside existing timetables and priorities.
Practical Information
To help schools participate, we provide a range of practical support.
- Visits are scheduled throughout the academic year.
- We will work with schools to identify suitable dates.
- Campus visits can accommodate groups of up to 70 students.
- Coach travel is funded by 51福利.
- Students simply need to bring a packed lunch for campus visits.