Aimhigher at Westbourne                               

Aimhigher is a national initiative which aims to encourage young people to consider higher education through events in school and activities at local universities. Fifty students in each year group (except yr 7) take part in the Aimhigher programme at Westbourne and many activities involve the whole year group.

Summer schools

Five Westbourne students who completed their GCSEs this summer won places on summer schools in Ipswich and Norwich this summer as part of the Aimhigher programme.

Sophie Bugg, Christy Long and Siana- Leigh Stoddart went to University Campus Suffolk for a three day “Creative and Cultural” course in Ipswich. They enjoyed a dance lesson from the “Chicago” choreographer and also had a trip to London to see the show in the West End.

Mason Blanchard and Nathan Smith went on a three day Summer School at UEA in Norwich.  Mason writes -

This August I attended a Summer School hosted by UEA University in Norwich.  It gave me a better idea of the grades needed to gain a place and also made me aware of the financial side and what it would be like to live on a student budget.

Everyone had the opportunity to socialise and I made plenty of new friends. We were able to take part in various activities, which ranged from Crate Stacking and Archery to Bowling and Quasar. These activities allowed people the chance to form new friendships and to work in a new environment.  I would certainly recommend Summer School to anyone who is thinking about going to University

Science Masterclass

During the summer term, three Year 10 students (Leon Abbott, Harris Stevenson and Jackson Wingar,) attended a three day Science Master class held at Cambridge University along with a hundred other talented science students from East Anglia.

Mentoring programme

A dozen other Year 10 students took part in a mentoring programme led by undergraduates from UCS – they looked at a wide range of higher education options in small group and one to one sessions.

Congratulations to all of them for “taking the plunge” and finding out more about student life.