Successful year for University Experience and Summer Academy
University Experience, which is co-ordinated by the University of Paisley, had 260 S4 pupils graduating this October, an increase of 28% from last year! Pupils had the opportunity to take part in employer visits (including Strathclyde Police and a fitness centre), study subjects as diverse as music, media, nursing and forensic science and to experience the social side of student life! Dawn Christie, Development Co-ordinator said: 'It was a fantastic week for everyone and we appreciate the invaluable work done by the student mentors, employers and the academics who all contributed to making pupils’ University Experience a success'.
Summer Academy, organised by the University of Strathclyde, also had a record number of pupils, with 466 GOALS pupils graduating. The Summer Academy guests this year included Elish Angiolini, Solicitor General for Scotland and Peter Peacock, MSP, Minister for Education and Young People.
GOALS pupils on Summer Academy also had the fantastic chance to be the first involved in the unique 'Save the Children – Children against Poverty National Sculpture' project, developed as part of the G8 Summit events in Edinburgh’s Princes Street. They were asked to comment on how they would address the problem of child/world poverty and these comments were incorporated into the sculpture to reflect the youth view for world governments.
It has been a great year for Summer Academy, with the Project's Director Christine Percival, awarded an MBE for her services to higher education and a commendation of the project in the Scottish Parliament, where unusually ministers from all parties were in agreement! MSPs believe that Summer Academy is a model which can be applied across Scotland and that it plays an innovative role in promoting HE to young people.