Primary2Uni aims to introduce university to Year 5 and 6 pupils in a fun and interactive way. We design our workshops to raise aspirations while providing pupils with an insight into higher education, our degree courses, and STEMM careers.
Partner schools
We've moved to a more targeted approach to ensure our pre-16 schools’ outreach interventions are impactful and beneficial to pupils from widening participation backgrounds. By working in this way, we can track pupils’ progress and evidence the impact of our interventions.
As a result, we've selected a cohort of partner primary schools. We've identified these schools as having the highest number of pupils from backgrounds currently underrepresented in higher education. We've also considered existing partnership arrangements with schools in our targeting criteria.
Our work with the Aldrin Family Foundation
We were the first university in the UK to partner with the Aldrin Family Foundation to distribute Giant Moon Maps™ to local primary schools. Thanks to generous funding from Sunderland City Council, Reece Foundation, Sir James Knott Trust and the University, 27 maps have been distributed to Sunderland, South Tyneside and Durham primary schools.
These maps bring the excitement of space exploration to the north-east. They are being used alongside interactive lesson plans developed by our education students to inspire the next generation of STEMM professionals. The lessons are delivered mainly to Year 5 pupils and offer a unique and interactive way to teach children about space and for them to hone critical skills in STEMM.
North East Raising Aspiration Partnership (NERAP)
We're also part of NERAP(opens in new tab), a collaboration between the five universities in the region (Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, and Teesside). NERAP coordinates a range of activities for pupils in late primary education, and specific targeted support for underrepresented groups. NERAP Higher Education Ambassadors deliver presentations and attend careers fairs.