Twenty students from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough schools recently enjoyed a two-day Higher Education Getaway, organised by the University of Cambridge and UEA around the theme of “Breaking Boundaries.”
The HE Getaway takes local teenagers away from school routines and encourages them to tackle physical and intellectual challenges - starting with some extreme team-building in Thetford Forest.
“Outdoor LaserTag was great,” said Sollie, from Sir Harry Smith Community College, Whittlesey. “It helped everyone get to know each other.”
The social theme continued in the evening once the students were settled into their accommodation at UEA. A talk on university finance was followed by two traditional undergraduate favourites, a quiz and a film night.
“The news has made student fees seem worse than they actually are,” commented Isaac, from Cromwell Community College, Chatteris. “The talk made it really clear – you’ll pay 9p in the pound once you’re earning enough. That’s much less scary.”
Day two of the Getaway saw the students exploring the campus, guided by current UEA undergraduates Hope and Joseph, before tackling some undergraduate-style seminars.
“The campus is much bigger than I thought,” said Jade, who came on the Getaway from Thomas Clarkson Academy, Wisbech. “I prefer this to somewhere like Cambridge, where the university buildings are spread through the town.”
Isaac and Sollie appreciated the opportunity to see undergraduate accommodation, which at UEA can include groups of study-bedrooms arranged round a shared kitchen. “Everything you need is provided,” said Isaac. “It looks really social.”
The University of Cambridge HE Partnership programme organises several HE Getways each year. This event was for students interested in the Humanities, so having seen the campus and key facilities such as the library and the Sainsbury Institute for Art, the students took part in several classes led by UEA academics.
Dr B J Epstein from the School of Literature, Drama & Creative Writing led a class on Picture Books and the Boundaries of Literature. “That was unexpected,” said Jodie, from Peterborough’s Voyager Academy, whose group was set the task of critically analysing The Red Tree, by Australian illustrator and author Shaun Tan.
Other groups tackled Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss, Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say, and Dr Xargle’s Book of Earthlets, by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross.
How did the students feel about reading children’s books? “I thought it showed how different and varied the things you can study at university can be,” Sollie said.
Prof. Catherine Rowett led a session on ‘Heaps, Classes and Other Tricky Borders,’ which considered classic Greek philosophical dilemmas including Zeno’s Paradoxes, and Dr Wendy McMahon finished the day with a discussion on ‘The United States of America: Borders of Identity.’
“We design the HE Getaway to give students an experience of university life in microcosm,” explains Matt Diston, HE Partnership Co-Ordinator for the University of Cambridge. “We hope that over the two days participants will have some of their worries about university addressed, whether it’s the cost of tuition fees, the fear of being left out in the rush to make new friends, or worries about keeping up with the course, and that they will head home with renewed confidence in their abilities.”
“This has shown that I will be able to make friends really easily,” said Isaac, who hopes to study History and Politics. “I’m looking forward to the social side of University. And I’m not daunted by the idea of spending 20 hours a week in the library either.”
“This HE Getaway event with Cambridge University is a great partnership opportunity and one which we’re proud to host,” said Liz Ferguson, UEA Outreach Officer. “We aim to work collaboratively with other Higher Education Institutions in our region to help local young people make an informed choice about their HE options.”
“We are excited to welcome students from Cambridgeshire to experience our campus and get a taste of university life,” she added.
The challenge: provide an experience of university in just two days - with the help of The Cat in the Hat, a millet seed and Thetford Forest.
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