Have you heard about the brilliant initiative in our region where learning is fun and hands-on and children are rewarded for taking part?

UCW works with the North Somerset Children’s University to help primary school children participate in engaging learning activities outside of school hours.

For every event children get involved with, they get a stamp in their Passport to Learning, which they save up to earn bronze, silver and gold certificates.

They are then presented with their certificates in school and, once they reach a gold level, they are invited to a mock graduation ceremony either at UCW or facilitated virtually by the North Somerset Children’s University to celebrate their achievements.

If you are a teacher or representative of a North Somerset primary school and you would like your pupils to get involved, please email childrens.university@weston.ac.uk

Here are a few of examples of the free activities and resources on offer…

Mini Beast Hunt – CLICK HERE to download your resources and take children on an adventure searching for Mini Beasts. Tick off all the creepy crawlies they can find and remember to treat all the creatures you find with respect and make sure you don’t disturb them or their habitats.

Nature Pirates – CLICK HERE to download your resources and help children become Nature Pirates. Go hunting through your local wildlife to find things of all different, textures, smells, weights and colours. Once children have found something, encourage them to draw it on the resource.

Professor Fluffy’s Education Adventure introduces year 5 and 6 pupils to further and higher education.

The interactive activities allow pupils to explore different career paths and the learning journey they might follow to achieve their goals.

Our innovative Campus Quest encourages pupils to explore UCW’s new facilities, and it also includes subject-specific workshops led by our Student Ambassadors.

The day concludes with a university-style graduation ceremony where pupils wear gowns and mortarboards and are presented with a certificate for taking part in the day.

Professor Fluffy Resources 2021

Professor Fluffy Education Adventure

Learning Outcomes and Lesson Plan

Move It Workshop

DIY Mortar Board

Interview with a student: Harry

Interview with a student: Jess

Interview with a student: Anastasija

Interview with a student: Charlie

This day of interactive workshops and subject taster activities provides year 8 pupils with the chance to explore the educational pathways to achieving their dream jobs.

We also look at the many different university courses on offer and play aspiration-raising games to prompt pupils to think about what they could study.

Pupils also have the chance to meet current higher education students and take a look around our facilities.

We find that many pupils want to see for themselves what a university-level institution actually looks like before deciding how they should progress in their education.

UCW is able to arrange tours of our Knightstone, Loxton or South West Skills campuses, all subject to government guidelines.

The tours are conducted by our students, so pupils are able learn at first-hand exactly what it is like to study at UCW, and also find out more about subjects including student finance and life as a higher education student.

Writing a personal statement on a UCAS form can be daunting to prospective students. We can provide schools with guides to writing statements, or deliver interactive sessions so pupils know the best ways to make an application stand out from the crowd.