Posted 16 July 2026

The third Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) Teachers’ and Advisers’ Conference took place on Friday, 10 July. It felt bittersweet for me as I visited this year’s venue – Leeds College of Building (South Bank Campus) – for the first time in August 2025. I enjoyed the subsequent planning visits I undertook to the venue but realise these are no longer needed as the Conference is over.  

This year’s theme was Championing Diversity in Higher Education (HE), which was complemented by support to access HE and succeed in HE. I think we achieved this theme based on one piece of attendee feedback: “I loved how it invited voices from diverse backgrounds to be seen and heard”. 

Supporting under-represented groups in HE 

In my role co-ordinating under-represented groups Networks, I understand the importance of lived experience. This includes student quotes in our resources; focus groups with learners as we develop resources; and even with myself co-chairing the GHWY Race Equity Network.  

This came through at the Conference, and I particularly enjoyed the presentation by The Youth Association (linked to our joint Lads At The Back bid on peer researchers). It was great to hear honestly from the young peer researchers about the need for support, and what that could look like (e.g. checking in on learners; safe spaces; and encouraging young men to show emotion). One thing I will take away from this was the idea to include student voice in other under-represented groups presentations at next year’s conference i.e. invite those with lived experience to co-present with staff working to support under-represented groups. This shows the value of co-creation. 

I also loved the commuter student panel, which is another group under-represented in HE. The panel was excellently chaired by Emily Chapman (Leeds Beckett University) and all the students were unafraid of using the platform as an opportunity to advocate for support. As a commuter student when I did my undergraduate degree, it’s great to see more support now in form of a commuter student society; commuter student lounges; and commuter student socials. The tip about needing to plan as a commuter student really resonated with me; I have memories of getting home to work on an assignment and realising I forgot to get an important textbook from the library. With digital e-books, I’m sure that isn’t an issue as much but still vital to plan as a commuter student as you cannot nip to where you live or to HE to get what you need.  

Support to access HE 

In her keynote at the start of the conference, Sam Vickers (CEO of Batley Multi Academy Trust) talked about your personal why. This is a question I often ask myself in my role and for me it is about making a difference helping young people to access HE e.g. through our transition packs and to succeed in HE by supporting staff confidence with our e-learning.

My role is collaborative but one of the things that inspired me was thinking about what I bring to the team and the realisation that you can be collaborative and still recognise your strengths. As someone aspiring to leadership as a long-term five-year goal, it was heartening to hear that being in a senior role does not mean focusing on numbers but on sense of belonging as success. 

Thank you and attendee feedback 

Thanks to Leeds College of Building for hosting the Conference. There was a good turnout so thanks to all the attendees, and to those who supported our Conference in some capacity – it really is a collaborative event. Steve Connell (Assistant Principal at Leeds College of Building) started the conference by welcoming everyone to the venue and that welcoming nature was seen throughout the day.  

In terms of event evaluation, the feedback generally commented on how well organised the Conference was; the range of talks were interesting and provided diversity; and the usefulness of information from the marketplace. We also received feedback on how to improve and we will reflect on that once we start to plan next year’s conference. 

 

Tahera Mayat, GHWY Collaborative Outreach Officer