UCL welcomes pupils and their families on campus to learn all about university 

Bring Your Family to University Days are a series of free one-day in-person events run by the UCL Access and Widening Participation team for pupils from underrepresented backgrounds. The aim of this series is to provide information, advice and guidance about university and how to access it and the next steps in education for young people and their parents and carers, as well as the transitional periods in a student’s academic journey, and how best to prepare for them.  

The sessions featured subject taster lectures, guidance sessions on the transition to university and how to best manage it, a tour of the UCL campus, and interactive activities. Pupils and their parents and carers also took part in a Q&A session with UCL student ambassadors and alumni and heard about other educational opportunities through a talk by Birkbeck University. To ensure that all attendees had the chance to talk to current students as much as possible, ambassadors not only led on all student activities but also participated in the parent and carer sessions. 

A parent who attended the session, said: 

This was our first time joining this type of event. It was excellent. The student ambassadors were so helpful and passionate about teaching and informing the younger ones. The choice of ambassadors was really good as we got to meet a range of different students which was excellent. The University 101 talk was really useful.” “

Whilst another parent said: 

“For me, this was the first time in my life that I’d explored a university in the UK. It was a very helpful experience and now I know a bit more about how to encourage and support my daughter with her choices.” 

The most popular sessions of the day focused on what it’s like to study at university and what courses are available to apply for, with overwhelmingly positive feedback on the usefulness of these sessions and the student ambassadors who ran them. Impressively, 95% of young people who attended the first event showed interest in applying to UCL in the future. 

One young person who participated in the Bring Your Family to University Day, said: 

“I think I gained all the knowledge I wanted to  and I was persuaded to apply to UCL as I fell in love with it.” 

UCL Widening Participation Officer, Natasha Barcinska, said: 

“This was the first time that we ran ‘Bring Your Family to University’ on campus since the pandemic, and each of the four days was a tremendous success. It was great having families back on site and seeing how much they enjoyed all of our activities. The enthusiasm of the visitors, especially the young people was catching, while the engagement between the parents and carers and our student ambassadors really showed how beneficial this event is for all members of the family. We really hope that each family was able to learn more about UCL and what to expect from the next steps in education, and we are looking forward to holding the event again this year!” 

If you are interested in attending a Bring Your Family to University Day, please apply via our dedicated webpage. Applications are now open for 2024! 

Apply to 2024 Bring Your Family to University Days here

Further Links: 

• UCL's Access and Widening Participation 'Bring Your Family To University Days'
• Who We Work With
• UCL Access and Widening Participation Priority Groups 
• Information and events for parents and carers

• Access UCL contextual offer scheme