North Yorkshire Creative Forces Days April 2018; Guest blog by Louisa Dobson, Uni Connect Higher York Outreach Hub Officer
Posted in Views by Louisa Dobson, Uni Connect Higher York Outreach Hub Officer
“I am smarter than I thought”
The first ever Creative Forces Days in North Yorkshire were hosted in April in a collaboration that saw SCiP Alliance working with York St John University, University of York, NCOP Higher York and North Yorkshire County Council to deliver two campus visits for Primary and Secondary School pupils from military service backgrounds.
The Primary School event, hosted and run by Angela Purdham, University of York Widening Participation Officer, was attended by 42 pupils from 5 schools in and around Catterick Garrison whilst the secondary event, hosted by Louisa Dobson, NCOP Outreach Assistant for Higher York, at York St John University, welcomed 75 pupils from 4 schools across the region.
“Today was awesome and I would like to come back here when I am 18 because I have learnt lots of things today and it was really fun. Rating 10/10.”
The aim of the events was to provide a taster of Higher Education for military service children, and give them an opportunity to get to know service children from their own and other schools. Students took part in a range of interactive activities about Higher Education, a campus tour and had the opportunity to explore shared experiences with other Service Children and design their top tips for schools to support them. These activities were also supported by current university students some of whom also came from a service background who talked about their own experiences, and transition from school to Higher Education. School staff also participated in a CPD workshop run by Annabel Hall and Nickie Young, Service Pupil Champions at North Yorkshire County Council.
“The (best thing about today was) the amazing relatable people! Meeting more military service children”
Secondary School students who attended the event will be invited to take part in designing a flyer of ‘top tips’ drawing from all the information collected on the day. This flyer will then be distributed in schools and community centres and youth groups.
“I have learnt that I can always accomplish what I want if I try”
