UCL degree taster for students by students

UCL English students have given A-level students a sample of English studies at degree level through a three-day summer school. 

The event, which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of UCL's Widening Participation strategy, ran from 29-31 July and saw approximately 30 A-level students getting to grips with literary studies at degree level for the first time. 

The aim of the summer school was to provide A-level students with a sample of English studies at university level before they embark on a full degree programme.

Michael Bintley, one of the students who organised the event, said: "The lessons are designed to help students develop their critical approach to texts and deepen their understanding of historical context. The hope is that the knowledge students have accrued during the summer school will help in their own studies in the future."

Students were recruited from eight different institutions, most of which were from sectors currently under-represented in the study of English literature at the post-secondary level.

Organised by research students at UCL English, the summer school was made up of six separate sessions, each of which covered a specific era in English literary history from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day. Taught by doctoral students, whose areas of research fell within the subject era, authors studied ranged from John
Donne to Evelyn Waugh. Sessions also included film screenings and field trips to places of literary or historical significance including the British Museum and Tate Modern.

Feedback from the students taking part was very positive: "UCL's English Department is simply amazing! This has certainly been a memorable and enriching experience that has helped me confirm that university is the right path for me to take."

For more information about future summer schools please contact UCL English at english-office@ucl.ac.uk.

UCL Context

UCL's Widening Participation strategy supports UCL's development as a 21st-century university: engaged with society, transforming through education the lives of people drawn from all sections of the community by remaining true to its core academic values, central to which is the pursuit of excellence.

Its primary focus is on students from groups currently under-represented, and activity before and at undergraduate level. It aims:

• to raise awareness of higher education through a comprehensive range of outreach and in-reach activities
  
• to assist in the preparation for higher education by addressing the academic, social and cultural issues underlying historic levels of low participation
  
• to enhance the diversity of UCL's student body by recruiting the brightest students regardless of their background
  
• to improve the retention of students at UCL by targeted interventions before and after enrolment
  
• to position UCL as a leader in the field by communicating effectively its vision of an inclusive, accessible university.

A variety of UCL departments run workshops for school children in Camden and other London boroughs. These include UCL Chemistry which runs workshops for 11-13 year olds as part of the Salter's Festival of Chemistry and the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture, which runs summer schools funded by the Widening Participation strategy focusing on topics such as proposals for the Olympic Games and the history of the Lea Valley.

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