Teachers and advisers are often the unsung drivers of student progression, answering questions, reviewing drafts, noticing potential, and gently nudging students toward opportunities they may not yet see for themselves.
At Bath, we see teachers not just as collaborators, but as core partners in widening access. That’s why we’ve built a suite of support specifically for them — to share insight, reduce burden, and recognise the critical role they play in helping students access higher education.
Practical Support for the Pressure Points
We know the university application process can be a heavy lift for teachers. In many schools and colleges, a small number of staff are responsible for advising large cohorts of students, each applying to different institutions, with different timelines and expectations.
That’s why we focus our support on the pressure points: where time is short, stakes are high, and extra input can make a meaningful difference.
Our personal statement webinars are designed to give teachers clear, up-to-date insight into what selective universities are looking for; insight they can feed back into classrooms the very next day.
And our one-to-one personal statement appointments for students take some of the load off teachers; offering individualised feedback that complements school-based support, especially for students applying to highly competitive courses or unfamiliar institutions.
These aren’t add-ons. They’re intentional interventions, designed to strengthen student applications and support teacher capacity where it’s most needed.
Creating Space to Reflect, Share and Influence
We also recognise that teachers and advisers rarely get time to step back from day-to-day delivery and think strategically about widening access. Our annual Teachers and Advisers Conference is designed to create that space.
It brings together educators, university staff and students to explore sector trends, share practical approaches, and reflect on what’s working. The goal isn’t just professional development, it’s collaborative development of the wider access ecosystem.
Sessions are built around current questions teachers are facing:
- How do we support students with less confidence or cultural capital?
- What does a fair admissions process look like?
- What can we do in schools to help students feel prepared for transition?
It’s about learning, but also about building community, connecting people doing similar work in very different contexts.
Recognition as a Tool for Visibility and Change
In a system that often celebrates outcomes over effort, teachers who consistently go the extra mile for their students can go unrecognised.
Our Teacher Champion Awards aim to change that, not just to say thank you, but to shine a light on the impact of everyday encouragement, belief and guidance. Teachers nominated by students are celebrated for the quiet but powerful role they’ve played in supporting applications, building confidence, or simply being the person who said “you can.”
Recognition also matters for visibility. It helps make the case within schools and across the sector that progression work is valuable, skilled, and worth investing in.
Why It Matters
Teachers are often the first people to spot potential. They’re also the ones navigating the complex, shifting landscape of higher education on behalf of their students often with little time, limited resources, and huge competing demands.
In schools where resources are stretched, careers advice is limited, or progression to university isn't the norm, teachers carry a heavy load. They’re expected to be information providers, application advisers, motivators and personal mentors, all while teaching full-time.
Our work with teachers recognises that burden. It’s not about offering “extra”, it’s about strengthening the system students already trust.
By offering practical support, webinars, feedback, CPD, direct contact with university staff, we aim to equip teachers with more of the tools they need to guide students through unfamiliar, high-stakes processes like UCAS applications, personal statements, and course choices.
But it’s also about more than tools. It's about building a partnership where teachers are not just deliverers of outreach but co-creators of it. Our Teacher Advisory Group, our conference, and our awards programme all signal that we see teachers as part of the access and participation ecosystem, not as an afterthought.
If we want to widen access, we need to widen support and that means backing the people on the frontlines every day.
Because fair access to university doesn’t start with universities. It starts in classrooms, common rooms, and conversations long before a student hits ‘submit’ on an application form.
