‘Aim High!’ delivers taste of university life to school pupils

Released: 15.02.19

Around 80 Key Stage 3 pupils from across Devon visited the Plymouth Marjon University campus for the University’s ‘Aim High!’ event, which aims to break down barriers for young people to consider higher education study in the future.

Pupils from six schools visited Marjon and discovered more about what it’s like to be a university student through a range of workshops, activities and quizzes which were all lead by current Marjon students.

Marjon Widening Participation and Outreach Officer Kari Eilertsen organised the day-long event and was pleased with the impact it had on pupils.

“We wanted students to understand what university is like and break down some of the barriers some pupils have,” said Kari.

“A lot of young people don’t have close family who have been to university and that can make conversations about the future a little more difficult. Events like this help to open the conversation because the students themselves have gained a small insight in to what university is like.

“I was really pleased with the way students interacted around campus. We put them outside of their comfort zone and they thrived.”

In a marked difference from previous University outreach events, Marjon’s Student Ambassador Team lead sessions on the day which included workshops on acting, teaching and sports coaching. Through their experiences on Marjon’s courses, the Student Ambassadors were able to both develop their own skills as well as share their passion for a subject area with groups of Key Stage 3 pupils.

Kari continued: “It was brilliant to see our ambassadors gain in confidence and be able to share their subject areas with these students.

“The students reacted really positively to the sessions and they seemed to feel more comfortable asking questions as they could relate better to our current students.”

The Outreach Team delivers a range of workshops and events across all the Key Stages and you can get in touch via outreach@marjon.ac.uk.