For a week, from Monday 3rd February to Friday 10th February, 20 year 8 students were selected to attend a workshop at the University of Surrey to promote further education. Over the course of the week the students completed a variety of activities that showcased the difference aspects of university life. They were able to try taster sessions for different subjects and societies which all the students were fully involved in. At the end of the week they had their own graduation ceremony that parents and guardians were able to attend so that they could see the students collect their certificate while dressed in their university mortar board and gown. It was a privilege to watch each of the students get involved in their activities and to make new friends.

The students said:

Alice - “I enjoyed the university trip, it was a great experience. I really enjoyed the social factor of the trip. I found that not only did I make friends from other schools but I became a lot closer to the people I wouldn’t necessarily say I was friends with at the start of the week. I would have loved to go for longer and experience even more of the activities and societies.”

Isha - “The university trip helped me get a taste of university life and the cost of how much it would be. It also taught me what it would be like living in the University of Surrey. I also learnt a lot about the student’s lives.”

Diezal – “The trip to Surrey University was one of the best experiences of my life and every day was more exciting than the one before and I was most excited for the graduation. The food was great, the people were great and it was very well organised.”

Deanna – “The University was an amazing experience. I got to meet new people and make new friends. I did new stuff that was out of my comfort zone. I really think everyone should give it a try.”

Kyra – “My time at the University of Surrey was amazing. My experience has improved my knowledge of what a university is, how many years it is and more. After being there, I’m now thinking about going to university in the future.”

Ruby – “What I enjoyed most were the society tasters because I learnt a lot about what kind of societies there are. I learnt that you don’t really have to worry too much about money when you are in university. We also had a graduation at the end of the week which was fun.”

Kacey – “We played dodgeball which was really fun! I made lots of new friends and really enjoyed every activity. It was such a great experience.”

Amy – “Last week at the university, my favourite thing we did was on the last day where we were thinking about what we wanted to do after university, because we got to talk more about it with other students. A thing I also enjoyed was when we had a debate about the pros and cons of apprenticeships and universities.”

Dermon - “We did taster lessons that uni students would do and we also tried some societies were we worked with people we didn’t know and that was good for my confidence. My favourite session was the engineering session. We also had a tour of the campus and I really enjoyed the graduation.”

Naeemah – “Last week we went to the University of Surrey and while we were there we learnt about finance and if you earn less than £25725 you don’t have to start paying back your debt. We did some subject tasters of a few lessons that they do at Surrey. There is also a wide variation of people from different countries there. On the very last day we had a graduation ceremony where we wore a gown and hat and went up collected a certificate in front of everyone.”

Asha – “On the university trip I found it very fun because I made more friends and learned more about university. I found out what I can learn at university which has made me think more about my future.”