HOP [Humber Outreach Programme]

Name

HOP [Humber Outreach Programme]

Legal name

HOP Humber (Humber Outreach Programme)

Website

https://hop-humber.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Outreach and Widening Participation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce & Career Transition Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Online/Hybrid Lifelong Learning Platforms & Open Enrollment Programs (EDAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Educational outreach services
• Higher education guidance
• Widening participation programme
• School engagement workshops
• Student progression support

Headquarters

HQ city

Hull

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Government Funding (UniConnect Programme): HOP is part of the UniConnect programme, which is government funded. It delivers impartial advice and guidance about higher and further education in schools and colleges across the Humber. The programme is free for students, parents, and schools to participate in.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HOP (Humber Outreach Programme) delivers free, impartial advice and guidance on higher and further education to students, parents, teachers, and adult learners across the Humber region as part of the UK government's UniConnect programme. The service is delivered through embedded school and college coordinators who run workshops, revision sessions, campus visits, and one-to-one support, supplemented by a digital resource hub, podcast series, Uni Taster Days, a Jargon Busting tool, and the Future Thinking Programme metacognition curriculum. All offerings are free at the point of use and funded by government grants via the UniConnect commissioning stream.

Product overview

HOP (Humber Outreach Programme) is a government-funded outreach programme (part of the UniConnect programme) that operates as a digital guidance platform rather than a traditional software product. Its core offerings include the Future Thinking Programme (a metacognition attainment-raising initiative), the Student Sector Spotlight Podcast, a Resources Hub covering apprenticeships, university, student finance, vocational studies, wellbeing and careers, Uni Taster Days integration via UniTasterDays, and a Jargon Busting educational tool. The platform serves students (Years 9-13 and 19+), adult learners, teachers, and parents across 43 schools and 9 FE colleges in the Humber region, providing impartial advice to support informed decisions about further and higher education pathways.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Future Thinking Programme A six-week metacognition and self-regulated learning programme for Year 8 students designed to raise attainment. It teaches question formulation, idea organization, connection-making, hypothesis generation, and work review through structured reflection.
• Student Sector Spotlight Podcast Monthly podcast series shining the spotlight on different sectors in the Humber region, featuring CEOs, MDs, founders, and influential people to give students, teachers, and parents insights into career pathways.
• HOP Resources Hub Centralised resource library covering Apprenticeships, University, Student Finance, Vocational Studies, Case Studies, Wellbeing, Careers, and Jargon Busting guidance for students, parents, and educators.
• Uni Taster Days Platform providing access to university taster day events across the Humber region, powered by UniTasterDays, enabling students to explore higher education options and campus environments.
• Videos and Guides Educational video content and downloadable guides supporting career planning, revision techniques, and higher education decision-making for students and parents.
• Jargon Busting Tool Educational tool helping students, parents, and teachers understand higher education terminology and specific language associated with further and higher education.
• HOP Humber Website Main digital platform providing impartial advice and guidance about higher and further education across the Humber region, serving students, adult learners, teachers, and parents through the UniConnect government programme.

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% of students who took part in HOP activities and applied to HE were successful in their application
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Student Futures (University of Hull)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023HOP collaborated with Student Futures at the University of Hull for the Widening Participation Conference in 2023, bringing together organisations with shared goals around widening participation in higher education.
• Into UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Into University partnered with HOP, University of Hull, and Hull and East Yorkshire Children's University for the Widening Participation Conference in 2023, focused on collaboration between organisations with shared widening participation goals.
• Hull and East Yorkshire Children's UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Hull and East Yorkshire Children's University collaborated with HOP at the Widening Participation Conference in 2023 alongside University of Hull and Student Futures, sharing goals for raising aspirations in the Humber region.
• Cosmos LtdminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023HOP teamed up with Cosmos Ltd to develop the FE Segmentation Programme, identifying distinct segments within the FE student population (HE Hopeful, HE Maybe, HE Sceptics, HE Confident) to better target outreach support.
• Middle Child Theatre CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Featured as a guest on the Student Sector Spotlight podcast, with HOP shining the spotlight on the acting/theatre sector in the Humber region.
• Women and Girls into Manufacturing and Engineering (WiME)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023WiME, founded by Dr Kristy Clode, was featured as a guest on the Student Sector Spotlight podcast, with HOP highlighting the manufacturing and engineering sector for students in the Humber region.
• Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023HOP works with the Humber LEP and its local enterprise connections as part of its outreach activities, contributing to the region's skills and careers agenda.
• University of HullcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Hull is the host institution for HOP. The Humber Outreach Programme is operated in partnership with the University of Hull, which provides the organisational base and academic oversight for the programme. HOP delivers campus visits and the Future Thinking Programme graduation at University of Hull facilities.
• Bishop Burton CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBishop Burton College is listed as a key partner college. HOP collaborates with the college on outreach activities including residential overnight stays, and promotes college open events to students and parents across the Humber region.
• East Riding CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEast Riding College is listed as a partner college in the HOP network, collaborating on outreach and progression activities for students across the Humber.
• Grimsby InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrimsby Institute is a partner college collaborating with HOP on outreach programmes. HOP promotes Grimsby Institute open events and T-Level programmes to students across the Humber region.
• University Centre North Lindsey (UCNL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCNL is listed as a partner college in the HOP network, supporting student progression to higher education across the Humber region.
• Selby CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelby College is listed as a partner college in the HOP network, collaborating on outreach activities and promoting vocational and HE pathways to students in the Humber region.
• UniTasterDays.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationHOP uses UniTasterDays.com as the technology platform powering its Uni Taster Days listings, Videos and Guides resources, and Jargon Busting tool. This is a white-label technology integration embedded within the HOP website.
• UCAScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHOP works closely with UCAS, promoting UCAS tools, resources, lesson activities, classroom resources, and application guidance to students and advisers across the Humber. HOP also signposts to UCAS Hub Live sessions, Adviser Lives webinars, and UCAS apprenticeships information.
• Riseholme CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRiseholme College is listed as a partner college in the HOP network, with open events promoted through the Humber Events calendar.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HEON (Higher Education Outreach Network): Surrey-based UniConnect partner with directly comparable mission of widening participation in higher education through school-based outreach coordinated across a defined geographic patch.
• Greater Manchester Higher: UniConnect programme covering the Greater Manchester area; delivers the same impartial higher-education outreach and progression support to schools/colleges with comparable structures and funding as HOP.
• Go Higher West Yorkshire: Sister UniConnect partnership covering West Yorkshire; operates under the same government funding mechanism delivering impartial HE/FE outreach to schools and colleges in a defined region, with the same staff-embedded-coordinator model.

Emerging players

• Future First: Charity reconnecting state-school students with alumni as role models to support progression to higher education; overlaps HOP's aspiration-raising work in schools across the Humber.
• The Access Project: Charity supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access top universities; operates a tutoring and university-application model that overlaps with HOP's school-embedded HE progression work.
• The Brilliant Club: Charity placing university researchers in non-selective schools to support university access; comparable to HOP in targeting widening-participation students and providing enrichment programmes in schools.

Broad incumbents

• Into University: Major UK charity running in-person and online widening-participation programmes that overlap HOP's focus on raising HE aspirations of less-advantaged students; cited by HOP as a collaborative partner.
• Social Mobility Foundation: UK-wide charity targeting high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds into top universities; comparable to HOP's outcome-targeted widening-participation approach for less-advantaged students.
• Aimhigher: Predecessor UK widening-participation programme effectively superseded by UniConnect; relevant as the historical institutional model for HOP's current activities and policy framework.

Others

• UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service): Core infrastructure partner for HOP; while UCAS is not a direct outreach competitor, its application platform, classroom resources and Hub Live content are central to HOP's student-facing delivery, making it the most relevant ecosystem peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLBKkV5waZLcQ133QpUCy8dgbEeFbXZFuc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/humberoutreachprogramme

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HOP [Humber Outreach Programme]