A full taste of university life at Teesside

Hundreds of youngsters from local secondary schools have experienced a taste of student life at a series of summer schools at the University of Teesside.

The University held a range of summer schools for 14, 15 and 16-year old pupils in Years 10 and 11. The schools included various workshops, lectures, hands-on projects, information on careers and advice on making the transition from school to further education as smooth as possible. Some pupils also lived in halls of residence for a complete student experience.

The youngsters also enjoyed a number of social activities, including line dancing, quiz night and a barbeque. They were helped by a team of student mentors who were on hand to assist them during their stay on campus.

Cory Chisholm, a Year 10 pupil at Billingham Campus School, said: “I really enjoyed the summer school activities. No-one in my family has been to university so I didn’t know much about it. It was even better than I thought it would be and I would really like to go to University in the future.”

A special ‘Chemistry at Work’ event also took place to raise awareness of science-related careers. Leading industry figures, including Corus, GlaxoSmithkline and North East Biofuels provided workshops on subjects as varied as molecular biology and petrochemicals to treating drinking water and how to make ice cream creamy!

Tom Chapman, a Year 9 pupil from Acklam Grange Comprehensive School said: “Chemistry at Work is a great day with loads of different experiments done in a fun way, which makes it really interesting.”

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