The end of term is fast approaching, but that hasn’t stopped students visiting local universities. Last week, 13 Year 10 students visited Warwick University. They were shown around the campus by the student ambassadors, seeing the accommodation, various places to eat and the student union. They visited the library which is open 24 hours a day so you can study in the middle of the night!
This week saw 40 Year 9 pupils visit University of Birmingham. Like last week, it was a gloriously sunny day and showed the campus at it’s best. The pupils listened to a short talk about the university and what’s on offer, lots of interesting questions were asked. They then heard a student presentation on Microbiology and the harm caused to the environment by plastic.
A tour of the campus followed. The clock (Big Joe) is an iconic feature of the university – standing proud in the centre of the campus.
The pupils learnt lots of interesting facts about the university, the Disney Film ‘Monsters University’ has it’s campus based on Birmingham University and the Aston Webb building where the graduations take place, was shortlisted for Harry Potter, but missed out as it wasn’t big enough!
During the afternoon session, the pupils were split into teams and they had to develop an idea that would enhance the life of students at the university. After some initial head-scratching, the ideas started to flow. They worked together as a team and communicated well with each other and the student ambassadors, who were giving them guidance. Students produced mind maps and lego models of their inventions and then each team had to pitch to the rest of the groups and a winner was chosen.
Ideas included: water parks, a Spa and a bike on a zip wire! They were very creative and confident with their pitches. The bike on a zip wire won.
Both visits greatly inspired the pupils to think about their futures and the vast range of opportunities available to them.
