What do we do?

Contribute to fulfilling Bangor University’s Civic Mission

What is Civic Mission?

According to the Cabinet Secretary for Education...

“Civic engagement requires partnership and action with, and within, our diverse communities and spaces… The responsibility of the university to society is not new, but today’s challenges mean it is essential that universities are accessible and relevant to their local communities… The university, as the link between the global and the local, will be ever more in important as we meet the challenges of Brexit…. Although universities are global in their outlook, they must be first and foremost be good stewards of their place and the people living there."

(Growing the civic mission of Higher Education in Wales, October 2017)

How does the Centre for Widening Access contribute to this agenda?

Raise Aspirations

The Widening Access Centre was created to provide a vital link between the University and its surrounding community. Its aim is to promote the work of the University and to raise the aspirations of individuals of all ages, who have little or no experience of higher education, to get to know what the University does and how they might benefit from what it offers.

How do we raise aspirations?

Opportunities and Experiences

The Centre works in partnership with University academic staff and a network of groups and organisations active in the counties of Anglesey, Gwynedd and Conwy on projects and taster activities to give people opportunities and experiences they would not otherwise come by.

From British Sign Language to Chinese language and culture, from photography to coding and lego, from music and drama to science, to name but a few, the Widening Access Centre’s partners offer a range of activities to enable people of all ages to find and develop their strengths.

Outreach to Schools

The Widening Access Centre is of the firm belief that we need to reach children at a young age in order to raise aspirations and open doors of opportunities to progress to higher and further education. Therefore, many of the Centre’s projects and partnerships involve children in years 5–9 (together with their parents) in order to capture the enthusiasm this age group has for learning everything new. Find out more...

On reaching year 9, the University’s dedicated team of Schools Liaison Officers are active in local schools giving guidance talks and pre-application advice, introducing students who share their experiences, delivering schemes such as the Talent Opportunities Programme (TOP) and hosting school visits and University Open Days.

Find out more about the widening access work carried out by the Schools Liaison Team.

When is our work done?

Support for Students

Our work is ongoing. The University’s Student Services provide support to students on a range of matters concerned with life as a student. Our team is there to ensure that every student receives the level of support they require to enable them to get the most out of their learning journey whether they require additional study skills, help to manage their finances or with finding a graduate job.