Victoria Healy
Each year, around 2,000 of our graduates take up roles in public services. We train more than 300 teachers every year, many of whom stay and teach in Greater Manchester.
This article is an edited version that originally appeared on the Manchester Evening News on 30 June 2025.
"What we do in the classroom goes beyond marking"
As a youngster, Victoria Healy enrolled into the Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force, where she discovered a real love for standing up and teaching.
As an adult, working as a teaching assistant at a secondary school in Middleton, Victoria quickly realised just how profound the impact of working with young people could be.
At the age of 30, as a single mum with four very young children, Victoria decided to pursue a degree in psychology, a PGCE in secondary psychology and a Master’s in educational psychology. Impressively, she achieved first-class results.
She has since secured a permanent position as assistant head of department at Loreto Sixth Form College in Hulme and is rightly proud of the difference her journey has empowered her to make to the lives of the young people in her classroom.
"As a teacher, you do such an important job because year on year you have the power to influence the next generation and improve their life chances," she said.
"At Loreto, we have some of the most disadvantaged students in the country, yet we achieve fantastic results. This is because we're highly inclusive.
"We have students going to Oxford and Cambridge, while others are resitting their GCSEs because they need maths and English to go into the world of work. We also have students who have complex additional needs, and we are committed to helping them thrive as well, because we're inclusive on every measure.
"Personally, I feel I make a real difference to the lives of young people within our communities thanks to the Master’s degree I completed. I studied autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions, and I find myself advocating for these students, helping to raise awareness and ensuring there's support and understanding in place to enable them to thrive.
"I am proud to make a difference to young lives through raising self-belief and self-esteem. There are a lot of areas of deprivation in Manchester, and as a result we welcome a lot of students from deprived backgrounds, with poor confidence and low self-esteem. It's our mission to improve this, raise them up and improve their life chances.
"I also grew up in a deprived area, so I can relate to the struggles of a lot of our young people, which makes me even more determined to help them overcome these.
"I recently received a card from a student who is getting ready to leave the college, and it said 'Miss Healy, you've raised my self-belief'. It’s these little things that remind us that what we do in the classroom goes above and beyond teaching and marking; we really are making a profound difference.
"I am so proud that year after year, I can make a difference to more kids' lives and influence the next generation of Mancunians. I was born and raised here. It's a beautiful place with a great community feel and wherever you are, wherever you're coming from, there's always a way in and you'll be welcome.
"I chose to study at The University of Manchester because it's renowned for its excellence, and you are surrounded by leaders in their field. I am proud that my journey has inspired my own children too – my eldest son is about to graduate from university with a degree of his own and start his teacher training, and I am incredibly proud.
"To those considering going to university to study as an older adult, I would say go for it! It really will change your life."
Find out more about how Victoria is making a difference by watching the video below.
Learn more about social responsibility at the University and how our graduates are making a difference in Greater Manchester.
Find out how we’re leading the world on sustainable development and read the University’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2021/22 report.
Discover more about becoming a student and studying at Manchester.
Learn more about social responsibility at the University and how our graduates are making a difference in Greater Manchester.
Find out how we’re leading the world on sustainable development and read the University’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2023-25 report.
Discover more about becoming a student and studying at Manchester.