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Welcome to the first ever Aimhigher Oldham newsletter!
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Aimhigher |
Aimhigher is a nationwide initiative designed to raise the aspirations, attainment and the awareness of Higher Education. Aimhigher Oldham is part of the Greater Manchester Aimhigher partnership which involves the 10 boroughs in Greater Manchester.
Year 11 Pupils “Get Ahead!”
Exam stress and the pressure of coursework can often leave many pupils with a feeling of despair as they near the end of secondary school. However the Aimhigher “Get Ahead!” year 11 pupil conference aimed to solve many of these
issues.
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| Pupils in the "Believe and Acheive " workshop at the Get Ahead! Conference |
The “Get Ahead!” conference brought together a number of organisations including Aimhigher, Positive Steps, HeadStart, Junior University and Theatre In to offer support and guidance to 70 pupils. Aimhigher Project Coordinator Michael Kelly said: “Helping young people to realise their potential and understand what is available to them after secondary school is of paramount importance. Achieving good grades at GCSE is a very important part of a young person’s life”.
The conference aimed to provide pupils with the skills and techniques to achieve their best in exams and coursework. Ruth Baldwin (Executive Director— Children, Young People and Families) opened the event with a motivating and inspiring speech for the pupils. A study skills workshop provided by Bev Costello (HeadStart) allowed pupils to understand the best way to approach their work. The Junior University team ran a Revision Skills workshop which the pupils found very useful.
• More than 15 cross borough Aimhigher events took place during the last school year including music schools, visits to universities, and summer schools |
• Over 1000 pupils from Oldham schools and colleges took part in these activities including a multitude of school based activities “Aimhigher has made me realise I need to start planning... I learnt that there are different routes into college, university and work” |
The afternoon session saw Andrew Fillis lead a workshop on motivation and self-achievement (Believe and Achieve) and Judith Kalu and Emma Davies ran the “Life After School” workshop, which gave the pupils an insight into their own life choices and the services offered by Positive Steps Oldham.
It's Your Choice So..."Take Your Pick"
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Young people experiencing art at The Oldham College |
Twice a year, Aimhigher Oldham hosts a two-day ‘taster’ event in collaboration with Oldham’s 14-19 initiative. “Take Your Pick” allows pupils to try a range of specialist and work-related subjects available to them within the borough. This October’s event allowed over 130 year 9 pupils to take part in a number of courses including Health & Beauty, Horse Care, Catering and many more. Many of the tasters offered at “Take Your Pick” make up part of Oldham’s collaborative provision. The event helps to promote the vocational and work based learning pathways and raises young people’s aspirations. The event was held at The Oldham College, Oldham Training Company, Alexandra House, Croft End Equestrian Centre and KickStart.
For more information on Aimhigher please contact your school Aimhigher Co-ordinator or the central office on 0161 911 3643
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