Staff and students are hitting the road to give people a glimpse of what life is like at the University of Cumbria.
The ‘Up and Coming’ interactive roadshow is criss-crossing the north of England and beyond this summer.
People have the opportunity to don VR headsets and take virtual tours of the university’s campuses and facilities.
They can also meet academics who are leading taster sessions and giving a flavour of the learning experiences that await prospective students once courses start after Clearing.
Supporting some of the summer’s biggest family-friendly events, the roadshow is stopping at Blackpool for the seaside town’s famous Lights Switch On as well as visiting the first-time events of Carlisle Fake Festival and the Doonhame Festival in Dumfries.
West Cumbria is on the route too as is Newcastle, Preston, Bolton and Belfast.
The roadshow team has advice and guidance about all higher education options available to prospective students, many of whom are awaiting exam results that are due to be published.
Ruth Harrison-Palmer, co-head of the university’s Institute of Education, is leading a ‘Learn How to Read’ lucky dip at Carlisle Fake Festival on Saturday, 17 August.
She will show music fans and families how to teach children to read using systematic synthetic phonics, a process of linking letters and groups of letters with sounds and vice versa.
Ruth said: “Unique to the university is a nationally-recognised model called the Cumbria Teacher of Reading. However our student primary school teachers train with us, they all do it and the focus is on ensuring that every one of them leaves us with the knowledge and skills of how to teach a child to read. We know there are instances where teachers in Key Stage Two use phonics interventions to help older children before they move up to secondary school, the Cumbria Teacher of Reading equips our student teachers for this too.
“Visiting events like this raises awareness of what we do, the expertise and specialist support we offer, and exemplifies the experiential learning approaches our students have.
“We’re also looking forward to visiting a variety of places where we can deliver our message to different groups. This reflects the diversity of the student body we have that includes mature students and those training in professional areas such as education or health. Simply too, we are there to support, guide and help those who are considering whether higher education is for them.”
‘Up and Coming’ roadshow locations
August
15 and 16 – Carlisle city centre
17 – Carlisle ‘Fake’ Festival, Bitts Park, Carlisle
16 and 17 – Lancaster city centre
24 – Belfast Abbey Mall
24 and 25 – Newcastle city centre
25 – Belfast city centre
30 – Blackpool Illuminations (Lights switch on)
31 – Kendal
September
5-7: Doonhame Festival, Dumfries
6 and 7: Hexham town centre
13 and 14: Market Street, Morecambe
13: Workington
14: Preston
