Inspire a generation

Question, can you remember how old you were when you first thought about going to university? 18? 25? or 50? Maybe even aged 11!

Back in the day

Thinking fondly back to when I was 11 years old I recall reading ‘Smash Hits’ magazine, covering my bedroom walls with freebie posters of East 17 (for my sins) and copying the very latest dance routines on MTV to perform at the next school disco.

Dreams of going to university during my final year at primary school were, to say the least not on my radar. But that was 1994; my equivalent in 2012 is much more clued up, ambitious and focussed on what they want from the future.

Savy School Kids

Hard to believe I know, but on the 3rd and 4th July this year approximately 200 Cheshire Year 6 primary school children demonstrated this shift in university awareness.
They attended an ‘Introduction to University’ event on our main campus, and before taking part in a jam packed schedule of teambuilding and aspirational workshops the students were asked how they currently felt about going to university.

The result?

Well out of the 200 little tots 86% said they would like to go to University. 86% who would have thought that?

Ok so you may think that’s just one group. Well, a few weeks later a further 30 Merseyside youngsters attended a campus event and of these budding scholars 85% confirmed they also had aspirations to go to university in the future.

Pre-empting your thoughts ‘that’s great Laura but why are you telling me this?’
I think it’s important to get an ‘A’ in our homework and embrace the prospect that whilst these little ones are learning about the past and present, they are also thinking about the future and in particular, their future.

The Lynx effect

Long gone are my secondary school experiences of future choices which took place in a broom cupboard style office opposite the ‘Lynx Africa’ drenched boys toilets (and if you were wondering no I didn’t pursue a suggested career in Travel and Tourism or make it as a famous actress).

Rather today, many Outreach, Widening Participation and academic colleagues just like us are working with thousands of youngsters providing quality information, advice and guidance on progressing to Higher Education, shouting ‘If you want to go to university, we will show you how to get there!’

Back to the Future

So over the next academic year when you see hundreds of our mini enthusiasts teamed in caps and gowns proudly strolling around campus to their mock graduation, not only do they look super cute but will be well informed about the journey to university and encouraged to achieve their hopes and dreams, whatever they may be.

The figures above illustrate that it’s never too early for students to think about their future so let’s support our schools and their students, work together and Olympics style ‘Inspire a generation!’

Outreach, simply reaching-out? (Part 1)

How do we define Outreach? Can we define it or is it simply 'reaching out'? 

Now I'm not much of a wordsmith, but I've always looked to the Oxford English Dictionary as first port of call for any of my referencing needs (those of you lucky enough to read my dissertation will certainly agree!).

Definitions

  

They define Outreach (as a verb), as 'To hand out, or over. To present, give' while another definition sees it as 'To exceed or go beyond bounds; to stray'. I really like the term 'stray' as I think it best defines what we do, and why we do it. Whether it is the boundaries of access to University, or the very nature of communicating with organisations outisde of our own, I like to think we're always looking to 'spread the word', or 'stray', across a few barriers.

As I have a tendency of going into great detail (!), I've decided to take the first Outreach blog in two parts. Be sure to look out for Part 2 in the coming days where we'll look at what Outreach actually looks like to a possible student.

Now how do I start to explain the changes in the Outreach Office over the past two years? It’s a tricky task, but one I’m willing to have a go at. Be prepared for a rollercoaster ride through government policy, aspirational plans, and one persons journey through the whole process!

Outreach?

At Chester our Outreach Office comprises of seven of us in all, with schools and college’s liaison activity and our department’s widening participation activity, combining into one unit over two years ago. This meant that all communication from our department with schools and colleges would be co-ordinated through the work of Outreach, as well as working towards being aware of the communication being made between the wider University and these institutions.



Wordle: The Browne Report



Some of these changes were made before the Browne report and before the Coalition Government’s announcements of changes to the funding system for those starting higher education in 2012. This meant we were very well placed to add three members of staff at the beginning of this year, to meet the needs of a quickly changing HE climate in this country.

 

Through all the media coverage of what’s been happening in higher education over the past few months, there have been repeating themes, terms, and questions, being thrown about by the media and the sector.

• How do we ‘widen participation?’
• What ‘outreach’ activity are Universities involved in?
• The students as a 'consumer'
• The overall issue of Social Mobility

Hopefully through our updates you may be able to understand how we’re working to solve some of these. Now put simply, there are two distinct areas which Outreach covers, and explains the different types of activity we're involved in;

"Widening Participation & Recruitment"

There are age groups, and students, who may interact with both areas throughout their school or college experience, and it's important we're aware of their requirements. As pupils become students, and students become consumers, the Outreach process is involved in every step of their journey.

End of Part One...

Although relatively brief, I'm sure you'll agree that the scope of Outreach is rather large across the entire University, and society beyond. We haven't yet got to 'Joe' and his educational journey, but as an introduction to the topic of Outreach, I hope you've found it insightful.

Thank you reading, and be sure to tune in next time.

Sean