This summer I was offered a very unique
opportunity to visit a university for five days to talk about further
education. As a grammar school student, the idea of A-levels and even
university wasn’t ever really a question and I was certain ever since I was in
year one that I was going to be a teacher when I grew up. Despite the fact that
I had pretty much planned my age at the age of four, those 5 days opened my
eyes to the possibilities of university, the skills I could learn and the
friends I could make.
So I arrived at the campus on the
1st of August in high spirits. I thought I looked quite casual but
neat with my Harry Potter t-shirt and turn ups in my jeans- I was pretty sure I
would look normal and fit right in.
Wrong.
Everyone was dressed like they
were being sponsored by Jack Wills, well, if you looked closely you could
notice a few cheeky Hollister Jeans but that was the only variation.
However within five minutes I was
chatting to some other girls who were also interested in history, they all had
very different reasons. For example, some wanted to study history because they
would like to research into things like slavery, genocide and the holocaust and
find out where humanity went wrong so we won’t repeat the same mistakes again.
Others were simply interested in the subject, they enjoyed it.
So, we spent the first day being
shown around the campus. One thing I really liked about it was that there were
a lot of options and things to do. One of the things that scare me about the
future is regret- will I regret my choices in further education? Will it be too
late to go back and change it? At university they look after you really well,
there are many clubs and mini courses you can take as well as your main course.
For example, I want to be a history teacher when I’m older and hopefully
educate children in poorer countries. However, I also want to help in other
ways. I have an interest in film making and animation but I have always worried
if I will be good enough for it. For that reason I never pursued it but at
university I could easily learn about it and start developing my skill alongside
my education in history.
We did a long of things in the
space of 5 days. We began working on projects on a period of history we were
most interested in. I chose ancient history because I’ve always had a fervent
attitude to myths and legends. Another factor that drew me to that decision was
the fact I was in Bath, what better place to do research?
So it began, the research and
presentation of our projects for the next 3 days. I really enjoyed making my
project because it was really independent and we all helped each other. At the
same time I felt I could go to the teachers for help and I felt really
comfortable.
At the end we all talked about
what we had learnt. I learnt a lot from my peers as well as my own work and I
was really proud of the work I had produced and happy with the friends I had
made.
It was honestly an experience I will
never forget. :)
AC
AC
