Our Story

FOCUS West (Focus on College and University Study – West of Scotland) is a part of the National Schools’ Programme in Scotland. We work to support young people into higher education, whether this is a degree course at a university or a Higher National (HN) qualification in a college.

Our work is on behalf of all universities and colleges and is therefore not connected to any one institution and we offer support regardless of the pupil’s subject area or career path of choice. This allows us to be impartial, inclusive and to offer balanced and helpful advice and guidance to the pupils we support.

We work from P6 to S6.  Activities are concentrated on the Senior Phase of the Curriculum for Excellent (S5 and S6). Alongside our work in schools, our website FOCUS Point (www.focuspoint.org.uk) gives our pupils in-depth, online higher education-specific information, advice and guidance as well as giving pupils help with college and university applications.

Funded by the Scottish Funding Council, FOCUS West began in 2000 as the GOALS Project and was reformed in 2009 after changes at a national level. The FOCUS West team has staff in five of the universities/higher education institutions in the west of Scotland, i.e. the University of Glasgow (Top-Up Programme – for S5/6 pupils), the University of Strathclyde (Campus Experience Programme – for S3/4 pupils), Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of the West of Scotland (Routes for All Programme – for S5/6 pupils),  and the Glasgow School of Art (Portfolio Development Programme). We signpost also to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Widening Access to the Creative Industries) for applicants to courses in Music, Acting, Dance and Technical Production Arts.

The FOCUS West team delivers our in-school and on-campus programme along with trained student tutors and mentors from colleges and universities in the west of Scotland, all of whom have personal and direct experience of the benefits of attending university and college. Many of the trained student tutors and mentors have themselves attended the schools that we are active in and have moved on to successful study in higher education. They are therefore powerful role models of what pupils can achieve.