MG Visit to Birmingham University

Event: Support LAC students to experience university

Number of pupils attending: 1

Aim of the Activity

Riversides School is committed to supporting all pupils to achieve their full potential especially when researching career opportunities for individual students. This specific visit was aimed at encouraging LAC pupils to attend university.

Through this, we were:

• Raising students’ aspirations
• Supporting LAC students
• Linking Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8
• Looking at Benchmark 7 is particularly important as the exposure to further education will give exposure to short- or long-term opportunities.

Activity

We contacted our student’s residential home and arranged for them to attend Birmingham university, with our student, to experience what it would be like to attend university.

It was a packed day from 9-2:00pm. They were given a timetable to follow so that they could make the most of their visit.

They looked at the range of courses that were available and the grades that were needed. They had an opportunity to sit in the lecture halls where they were informed about the accommodation and costings. Our student was disappointed that she didn’t get to look at the two types that were on offer.

They were invited to take part in a tour of the campus, by a student. They discussed their experiences. Our guide was a LAC student who was studying English and business.

Part of the tour was to inform prospective students of the clubs they could join such as rugby, hiking and netball. Our student wasn’t enamoured by these!

Finance was also discussed. They talked about where they would need to apply for grants and how to budget to support them whilst they were at university.

Finally, they ended up in the food hall, where they ordered chicken and chips with the voucher they had been given.

Impact of Activity

Our student felt it was a real taster day and gave an opportunity for her to experience university and speak to people like her.

She felt it was something that she could aspire to, and the visit persuaded her that university was for her.
Although she doesn’t want to go to Birmingham uni, she felt it really is the right path to take.

This has helped focus our student as she knows that she needs to achieve grades 4 and above in her GCSEs so that she can attend Sixth Form College, which will lead her to the university of her choice where she would like to take Psychology / criminology and law.

Quotes from the Students

“Now, I suppose I had better start getting the best grades that I can in my GCSEs”
“It was great to know that all of the other students visiting are LAC kids”