STEWARDS Academy students attended university some years earlier than usual when a group of 14 Year 7 pupils travelled to the University of Essex at Colchester. The university was able to welcome our younger students within their outreach programme, giving them an early taste of university life and an experience of a further option for when they make their future decisions in life.

Our group had a great time questioning the Student Ambassadors, who were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the enquiries. We learnt about the student accommodation available, how you learn to be more independent, the entry requirements to access favourite courses, and the importance of starting to plan early by working hard to obtain the best GCSE grades.

Our Student Ambassadors then took us on a tour of the university campus where we were able to see the double decker bus snack bar, the library where much private study and research is carried out, the gym, the student accommodation, lecture halls and the shops. It really was like a little town.

Our young group showed an impressive maturity and everyone left the university much more knowledgeable than before and all said that they would now consider university as an option for the future.

Our host for the day said afterwards; “Both myself and the student ambassadors were impressed with the fantastic questions your students asked and their enthusiasm to learn about university. They were a credit to the school and we hope they apply for university in the future”.