Last updated 15:59, Wednesday, 05 March 2008

Taster day: University of Cumbria school and college liaison officers Louise Heggie and Carly Stuttard, with children from Beckstone Junior School, during their My First Day At Uni visit

PRIMARY school children from West Cumbria had their first taste of university life with a series of visits to the University of Cumbria’s Fusehill Street campus in Carlisle.

The ‘My First Day at Uni’ events were designed to be a fun and informative way to make higher education a reality for the Year 6 children and help them to see university campuses as welcoming places.

The pupils, aged 10 to 11, also had the chance to take part in their own graduation ceremony at the end of the day and were presented with a ‘My First Day at Uni’ certificate in the style of a degree scroll.

Beckstone Primary School and Ashfield Primary School from Workington and Monkwray Primary School, Whitehaven, visited the campus, with nearly 40 children from each school attending.

A range of fun activities were arranged for the children, including a campus tour treasure hunt, university challenge quiz and the chance to interview a real student about their university experiences. There was also a ‘My Dream Is To Be’ drawing exercise to help the children explore and learn about university and student life.

David Warbrick, head teacher at Beckstone Primary School, said: “The trip was a great success and the children came away really enthused. It was a chance for them to see where they could be studying in the future.

“The children were given a tour of the campus and were very impressed to see the students working away on their laptops in the learning lounge. They even put together an assembly of their university experience for the rest of the school when they got back.

“Trips like these are excellent opportunities for children to realise their aspirations; it gives them a real purpose to learn and work hard at school. I wish it had been available for me when I was younger.

“We’re very grateful to the University of Cumbria for being so good with us on the day.”

Pamela Telford, head teacher at Monkwray Primary School, explained how the day was a marvellous experience and one which the children thoroughly enjoyed: “There were 30 Year 6 children from Monkwray Primary who went to the Carlisle campus. They were given a tour and were involved in numerous activities which completely captured their attention.

“Because of transport issues and the geographical context of Cumbria, children don’t always automatically have the option to go to univeristy. But experiences like these give children a wider option of opportunities; it brings to their attention learning possibilities for the future.”

Louise Heggie, Schools and Colleges Liaison Officer at the university, is one of the organisers of the visits. She explained: “These children represent the future of our university and we hope that by visiting us at a young age we can inspire them to continue their education past compulsory school age and realise that university is an option for them.”

Funded by Aimhigher Cumbria, the purpose of the event is to raise the aspirations of young people from an area where participation in higher education is low, a key strategic aim of the University of Cumbria. It will also highlight the wide range of options available to them when they complete compulsory education.

Susan Donnelly, from Aimhigher, said: “In giving children this kind of campus experience, Aimhigher wants to keep open the idea that university education is a pathway that exists for them, and that they can choose to take it.

“For a variety of reasons, young people often decide quite early to close off possibilities for their own futures. Because of this it is important to work in primary schools before children have made these kinds of decision.”