Year 9 pupils visit the RAU campus

28 Feb 2018

It may have been a dreary day in early February, but the rain didn’t dampen the spirits of 52 Year 9 pupils from Nova Hreod Academy, Swindon, who visited the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) campus for a university experience day, packed full of uni-style learning.

This visit was part of a local schools’ partnership initiative, being delivered across the region by the RAU with education specialists Applied Inspiration.

Activities were designed to raise awareness of university study and build aspiration towards higher education. The day also included an interactive tour of the university campus led by 10 Student Ambassadors.

Pupils were then tasked with an interactive university “challenge” to design their own university and pitch their ideas to the rest of the group, an activity designed to model the style of learning that students should expect from university and enable them to develop and practice presentation skills to support educational and career success. The winning group designed a fully-comprehensive Arts University, inspired by their own passions for dance and drama and the small and specialist offering of the RAU.

One pupil said: “Today I learnt how to be more confident about my strengths”. Another said that as a result of the campus visit he would “study enough so that university is an option”.

The local schools’ partnership programme is focused on building effective relationships between schools and the University, aiming to raise and promote aspirations, awareness and access to higher education for local young people.