A consortium of universities and colleges across the South West has won £5.5million in government funding to inspire young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into higher education.

Institutions across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset – led by the University of Plymouth – have been awarded two years’ funding in the first phase of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP), being launched by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in January 2017.

With funding of £60 million per year, the programme will aim to drive a step change in the progression into higher education of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, including members of ethnic minority groups and young men.

To meet those goals, the consortium – under the name of Next Steps South West – will focus on Year 9 to 13 students in wards and schools identified as having presently low HE representation.

Next Steps South West, which will officially begin working in January 2017, brings together a variety of higher and further education providers, and its membership includes Cornwall College Group, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Falmouth University, and Truro and Penwith College.