On Saturday 16 February, 36 year 12 students attended the SUCCEED programme on the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus. They came from a variety of Partner Schools across Kent and Medway which meant that they had the opportunity to interact with those they had never met before. The aims of the ‘Personal Foundations’ day were to allow students to consider who they are and how they present themselves to others, reflect on their goals for the future and learn about the different options available to them when they leave school.
Upon arrival, the students were greeted by members of staff and given their library memberships, allowing them to use the Templeman library throughout the programme and for their own research. Students were then allocated to small groups and briefed about the timetable of the day which included a wide range of interactive sessions. These were led by University of Kent ambassadors, who shared their own experiences and answered questions about student life.
The first session involved thinking about the question ‘Who am I?’ which considered personality types and how students perceive themselves. Following this, they took part in a ‘Goal Setting’ session where each group where given a task to create a tower from materials such as cardboard and coloured paper, however each group had a different goal. For example, one group were instructed to design tallest tower whereas another group’s task was to value communication and teamwork. The students were then asked to look at the towers created by other groups and consider what the goal was and whether they had achieved this. This fun activity emphasised the idea that although you may be looking to have the same result, there are lots of different ways to do this depending on what your goals are.
After completing these activities, there was a lunch break which took place in the Origins restaurant on campus and this gave students the chance to experience one of the social aspects of university life. The final session of the day titled ‘What are my Options?’ explored the different higher education qualifications that they could choose from through card games and other interactive activities. This session allowed students to consider the various pathways they could embark on and meant that they could carry on researching these in their own time.
Feedback from the day was extremely positive, with many stating that they are now looking forward to the next session in March where they will be able to listen to a variety of speakers that range from PHD students to graduate employers.
If you would like more information about this activity, please email outreach@kent.ac.uk