The Student Factor

26 January 2010

After a welcome and introduction in the John Foster Building, the pupils got stuck into fun and informative sessions including Campus Builder, a chance for pupils to take on the role of a ViceChancellor and make decisions about which buildings were essential in the design of a new university. Thankfully most campuses ended up with at least one library and lecture theatre - although the inclusion of a funfair in one design gave food for thought.

A Scavenger Hunt around the campus and a visit to the Capital Gate Accommodation site allowed students to see how their designs matched up to our own University.

The Grill-a-Student activity allowed pupils the chance to have short five minute speed-dates with undergraduates from the Student Recruitment & Widening Access team who answered openly and honestly about life as a student.

After a lunch in the Students’ Union the final part of the day was a ‘Who wants to be a Student?’ quiz, which had the pupils thinking and working as a team to battle it out for a star prize. Finally, the pupils took part in a mini-graduation to celebrate their achievements throughout the day. 

One pupil comented: “I think the activities were really fun and useful and have made me change my mind about my future.”

Paul Ireland, one of the University’s Aimhigher Account Mangers within SR&WA commented: "It was a pleasure to welcome the pupils from Park High to the University as they really got involved with all of the activities throughout the day. It was a great opportunity for them to come onto campus and to work alongside current undergraduate students and to learn more about the opportunities available to them in Higher Education. This is the first of more than 50 similar days we will be running this semester for students aged 11-18, so it is a really positive start to 2010!"