During the Easter holidays over 50 young people from Burngreave Study Support projects visited Sheffield University, getting a taste of life as a university student.
Older pupils extracted DNA in the Medical Biology Department and made popcorn and candy floss in the Chemical Engineering Department while young pupils attended art, writing and music workshops.
The visit was a great success, giving young people from Burngreave the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of university courses – in particular the practical elements of science.
Visits like these prove that striving towards further education is within everyone’s capability. You only have to be committed and willing to achieve it. It is important that links between community groups and further education institutes continue, so that we bridge the gap of fewer ethnic minority young people attending higher education.
Thanks are due to Sheffield University Access Department and to New Deal for ongoing funding for the Burngreave Study Support Consortium.
by Nasira Amin, ReachHigh 2 Co-ordinator
“I felt very mature and like a young adult. University seems such a fun place where you can meet people from all kinds of backgrounds, from all over the world. I am thinking of studying medicine because I want to help my community.” – Nadia Rehman, age 12
“I enjoyed my visit to, especially the science lab workshop because it made me feel like a real scientist. I want to go to University because I want to further my education in science and it’s my favourite subject.” – Sehrish Baig, age 14
“The workshop I liked the most was the experiment about how to check DNA because it was active, exciting and fun. When I leave school I want to study psychology because I’m good at communicating with people.The trip has made me want to go to University in the future.” – Ayesha Akram, age 13
“I liked the music workshop because we got a chance make our own music. I want to study English because I enjoy reading stories. Going to University will also be fun because we’re not going to do work all the time.” – Ayat Abdul Qader, age 10
“The best thing about the visit was the DNA experiment and the chemical engineering workshop. I’m hoping to get good grades at school and study science and computers. Also going to University would help me get a good job.” – Shuayb Nisar, age 12
“I liked the music lesson because we got to make lots of noise and make up fun rhythms. The visit made me think about going to university. I would like to go so that I am well educated and hopefully achieve a lot. At university I would like to study Law so I can be a lawyer.” – Emily Haimeed, age 11
