New learning centres will officially open in Glasgow and Edinburgh this week aimed at connecting children as young as 7 with two leading universities.
The centres in Govan and Craigmillar are a collaboration between the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh and education charity IntoUniversity to provide additional educational support to disadvantaged young people aged 7 to 18, who may never have thought about going to university.
IntoUniversity Govan, which officially launches this afternoon, is the first of three local education centres to be opened in Scotland and is based at The Pearce Institute in Govan, Glasgow.
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A further centre - IntoUniversity Craigmillar - based in The White House, Craigmillar, Edinburgh, will also be officially launching this week and a third centre in Glasgow’s Maryhill will be launched in spring 2022.
The new centres in Craigmillar, Govan and Maryhill are the charity’s first in Scotland.
Getting more disadvantaged pupils into university
IntoUniversity’s impact report for 2020 shows that 71 per cent of school leavers who received support went on to progress to university, compared with 26 per cent of all students from similar backgrounds.
Both universities will be involved in all three centres which, working closely with local schools and other agencies, including local authorities, will offer support to young people. This will likely include after-school academic support, mentoring with university students and local professionals, in-school aspiration-raising workshops and enrichment and work experience opportunities.
The Govan and Craigmillar centres opened to young people in April and once established, each centre will support over 1,000 students per year.
The new Scottish centres are inclusive of all academic abilities and will help young people to achieve a university or a college place, or another positive destination.
Leo, who is 9 and a P5 pupil at Niddrie Mill Primary School in Edinburgh, said: “I have been coming here for three months now, since the school holidays, and it has given me a lot of education like computer science and maths, as well as fun activities. It has helped me think about what I want to do when I leave school and the job I want to do, to be a police officer like my grandpa, and I would need to go to university for that.”
Yasnitha, who is 13 and an S3 student at Notre Dame High in Glasgow, said: “I really like coming to the centre - it is very relaxing and calming, and I get to do my homework and lots of other educational activities. Everyone that works here is so nice and they have helped me with passing my tests - I used to get Cs and now it is all As, which I am very proud about.
“I want to go to university to become a primary school teacher - we get to talk about university and learn what qualifications I need.”
Professor Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said the IntoUniversity centres would be a critical part of the university’s approach to widening participation.
Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow, also said the centres would contribute to the university’s commitment to widening access.
“We believe that these new centres will help prepare children from an early age to raise their aspirations and give them the confidence to see that going to university is a real, viable option for them,” he added.,
Dr Rachel Carr, chief executive and co-founder of IntoUniversity, said: “We are delighted to have opened three new learning centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh in collaboration with the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the success of students so far, as well as looking forward to what they will achieve in the future.”
