This year, the Realising Aspirations launch saw over 300 students enrol on the programme. 

Realising Aspirations is a series of partnerships between Ashton Sixth Form College and universities across the country. The flagship university preparation programme aims to prepare students for the transition into higher education and encourages students to think carefully about their career pathways.

Students sign up to a specific subject strand that interests them. This year there are 19 strands overall and these strands cover an extensive range including History of Art, Sport, Language and Linguistics, Computer Science, and Healthcare. Subject strands allow students to learn more and try out a pathway they may never have experienced previously or they can also confirm whether the career a student wants to pursue is truly for them.

Students gain the opportunity to visit universities across England, showing them the breadth of choice and diverse courses available to them. Allowing students to focus on their interests and passions allows them to begin to look at careers they may never have thought about and to also look to universities outside the local area. 

By trying out seminars and lectures given by leading professors in specific fields, students experience degree-level learning. Students are able to make informed decisions about what they wish to study and where.

While Realising Aspirations has an academic focus, the programme also encourages students to meet new people outside of their day-to-day classrooms. Students meet people who have similar interests and possibly similar career ambitions too.