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About HEON

The Higher Education Outreach Network (HEON) is a partnership of local organisations including universities and colleges working in Surrey and North East Hampshire.

At HEON, we believe everyone should be able to make informed and inspired choices about their future, whoever they are, wherever they’re from.

We support this vision by delivering high quality and timely outreach programmes to schools, colleges and in the community, while encouraging and enabling collaboration in the region to empower underrepresented learners to make informed choices about their future education and to fulfil their academic potential.

HEON is one of 29 partnerships that make up the Uni Connect Programme in England, funded by the Office for Students (OfS). The core aims of Uni Connect are:

Contribute to reducing the gap in higher education participation between the most and least represented groups.

Equip young and adult learners from underrepresented groups to make an informed choice about their options in relation to the full range of routes into and through higher education and to minimise the barriers they may face when choosing the option that will unlock their potential, including barriers relating to academic attainment.

Support a strategic local infrastructure of universities, colleges and other partners that can cut through competitive barriers, offer an efficient and low-burden route for schools and colleges to engage with higher education outreach, enable schools to engage with attainment raising activity, and address outreach ‘cold spots’ for underrepresented groups.

Contribute to a stronger evidence base around ‘what works’ in higher education outreach and strengthen evaluation practice across the sector.

HEON In Numbers:

7478
INTERACTIONS WITH LEARNERS in 22-23

147
Activities Delivered in 22-23

11
Partner organisations working together