Schools Information

We can visit schools and colleges to help pupils prepare for a future in Higher Education.

Our friendly and knowledgeable staff and students will visit at a time that fits around the school day, and while most of the activities we offer are designed for students, we are also happy to talk to teachers and parents to help them support pupil progression to Higher Education.

All of our activities for schools are customisable, but typical sessions include:

Introduction to Foundation Degrees. At University Centre South Devon we specialise in the provision of foundation degrees. These are an increasingly popular way of demonstrating academic knowledge while also learning valuable real-world skills required by employers. Foundation degrees usually take two years to complete and are stand-alone degrees (FdA, FdSc), but they can also be ‘topped up’ to Full Honours (BA, BSc, LLB) with an extra year of study. We can come and talk to your pupils and teachers about the pros and cons of studying for a foundation degree compared with the other options in higher education.

Subject specific workshops or guest lectures. If you have a group of pupils who are interested in a particular subject area, we can deliver a university-level taster session. These can be particularly useful if your school does not have this subject-specialism. In the past we have held workshops in areas including business, criminology, digital skills, psychology and education and teaching. These are typically hosted by one of our lecturers, who are also able to deliver formal guest lectures to pupils who are interested in experiencing what Higher Education learning is really like.

Higher education and careers fairs. Higher education or careers fairs provide an excellent opportunity for students to talk informally to university staff, pick up a prospectus and have any specific questions answered. We attend many higher education and careers fairs organised by schools and colleges throughout the academic year. If you would like us to attend your school fair please contact our Outreach Team.

Campus visits. We find that many pupils want to see for themselves what a university-level institution actually looks like before deciding how they should progress from Level 3. We are able to arrange tours of our Paignton and Torquay campuses. The tours are conducted by our students and academic staff, so pupils are able learn at first-hand exactly what it is like to study with us.

Student life. Our student ambassadors are happy to visit schools or sessions here at UCSD to answer any questions pupils may have about the day-to-day enjoyments and challenges of being a student.

Student finance. We can provide expertise on the current situation in student finance. We can explain tuition fees, maintenance loans, scholarships, bursaries and budgeting, with the aim of reassuring pupils, parents and teachers that an investment in Higher Education remains a great option.

Personal statements workshops. Writing a personal statement on a UCAS form can be daunting to prospective students. We can provide schools with guides to writing statements, or deliver interactive sessions so pupils know the best ways to make an application stand out from the crowd.

Contact us. For more information about how we can help pupils prepare for a future in Higher Education, please contact our Outreach Team on: [email protected] or call 08000 21 31 81