About Us

Pip has worked in the field of higher education for over 25 years, liaising closely with schools, colleges, policymakers, governmental bodies and universities. Her particular fields of specialism include HE policy context, widening participation, fair admissions, the student experience, student learning and the student voice.

As Head of the Policy and Research Team at UCAS, Pip was responsible for many educational projects and surveys of national prominence covering a range of research areas including equity in vocational qualifications, gender differences in STEM subjects, fairness in HE admissions and accuracy of predicted grades.

As an advisor in the Supporting Professionalism in Admissions (SPA) Team, Pip developed good practice case studies focusing on university admissions, including the admissions lifecycle, supporting students from a care background and the use of contextual information in decision-making. Pip has more recently supported universities to write their access and participation plans.

She graduated from Lancaster University with a doctorate in Educational Research, publishing her thesis on contemporary issues surrounding university admissions and co-authored an article with the University of Bristol 'Students as co-authors of an academic development service' in the peer-reviewed journal ‘The New Review of Academic Leadership’ (July 2020).

Pip is currently employed by the University of Bristol as a Project Manager.

Rachel is a commercially focused professional with extensive experience in the education and charitable sectors, helping organisations to leverage market intelligence to gain business opportunities and competitive advantage.

Rachel has worked on multiple high-profile and influential governmental contracts for services to young people including securing substantial funds from the Higher Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to research potential government-led ‘shared services’ such as part-time admissions as well as working with the UK Department of Education to heighten awareness of new student finance packages.

In her role as Head of Education Sales at UCAS, Rachel collaborated with over 150 UK universities to enhance their student recruitment by providing expertise in commercial targeting and data analysis. Rachel also served as Head of Business Strategy and Development at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), where Rachel engaged with a global clientele to identify and develop business quality assurance opportunities.

Rachel has undertaken transformational consultancy projects for organisations such as the University of Birmingham, Blackpool and the Fylde College and the University of Greenwich supporting with market positioning, portfolio analysis and CMA compliance. Most recently Rachel has supported the membership body Landscape Institute on their digital transformation project supporting with actionable business strategies that will drive growth and improve organisational performance.