Pupils at the graduation event at the University of Warwick
High-achieving teenagers from a city school swapped the classroom for university lectures as they learned what it takes to get a PhD.
Pupils from Murray Park Community School, in Mickleover, have taken part in the Scholars Programme – The Brilliant Club where pupils completed a PhD-style programme with PhD tutor Obinna Okoro from the University of Derby looking at climate change.
The programme, entitled “Anthropocene vs. Deep Time”, saw 12 pupils from Years 8 and 9 graduate after they completed a 1,500-word assignment and were graded in the university format.
A PhD tutor came into school once a week to talk about how the climate is changing and the pupils were given an assignment after each lesson such as an essay or newspaper report.
Billy Rose, 12, said: “I think it was a different style of learning that we hadn’t experienced before. This helped us get ready for university if we wanted to go. Personally, I do want to go and study some sort of science.
“If anyone is thinking of doing this scheme, I would tell them not to worry too much about the different assignments and essays as you get support with it. I know that 1,500 words seems a lot but quite a few people wrote more than that and it’s not that much in the grand scheme of things.”
Summer Peoples, 12, in Year 8, said: “I found it was a more personal experience than being in the classroom as there were only six or seven people in each lesson.
“I would recommend for others to do it as I learned a lot but you need a good work ethic and have time management skills from the start, although you do learn that in the course.”
Year 9 pupil Joshua Johns, 14, said he would consider a PhD in history after taking the course. He said: “It was not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it was quite interesting.”
Lewis Keeling, 13, Year 9, added: “It’s quite different to schoolwork and it will definitely help in the future. I enjoyed it as it was learning something new. It’s also learning life skills.”
The programme started in October and finished in January. Now the pupils have attended a graduation ceremony at the University of Warwick.
History teacher Claire Moody, who is also the school’s Pupil Premium Lead and Raising Achievement Leader for Year 8, said the Brilliant Club is a charitable organisation, so 55 percent of those selected fitted the criteria for being disadvantaged.
She said: “It involved a mixture of pupils with really high targets and those with great potential.
“This also expands the idea of higher education to pupils from different backgrounds. It’s a really good experience and not the typical programme that is offered to pupils from Murray Park.
“This is the first group to do the Brilliant Club at Murray Park and we were the only Derby school at the graduation event.
“It was a really good experience for them and I hope it gives them the confidence to show what they can achieve.”
