Study in the sun: summer
schools take over
It’s that time again. Balmy evenings, the soft smack of leather on willow, the smell of barbecue smoke, summer’s here and it’s time to kick back. Well, maybe not. For those with a yearning for learning, here is a tempting selection of courses to carry you through to autumn.
Bristol film buffs
Bristol University is running a Film Summer School from 30 July to 2 August. The course will be explore the development of cinematic language, the position of the spectator, and how film is ‘read’.
Classic and contemporary films will be viewed and analysed as a pivot for discussions on meanings and responses. Budding Michael Winners need not apply.
Fresh from Bournemouth
Bournemouth University is currently hosting its first summer school for potential university entrants. Although aimed at anyone considering any university course, participation is bound to boost prospects for would-be Bournemouth students.
Focusing on the study skills needed for successful education the course is completely free to students (over 18 years old). Aspiring freshers must complete three days a week, for the six-week period beginning 18 June, and will be expected to complete two learning skills assignments.
School for stargazers
From 9 to 13 July, the University of Glamorgan is welcoming 50 sixth-formers, as part of a pioneering approach to the teaching of astronomy and planetary science. The Welsh-wide project focuses on a separate subject on each of the five days. With themes including science fact and fiction, space travel, the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, and the future of space exploration, the course aims to encourage a generation of budding space scientists.
For the first time the Space School will run robotics workshops focusing on the problem-solving skills scientists and engineers will encounter on future space missions. Dr Mike Reddy, robotics team leader, said: “Space exploration is a unique test-bed of computing and robotic systems. We want to give students a realistic appreciation of the problem-solving skills future scientists and engineers will face on projects and missions.”
An appetite for learning
One hundred year 8 pupils were given taster sessions in art, computer science, history and sport at Southampton University at the beginning of July, as part of an initiative targeting students with no previous family history of higher education. Organised by the Wessex and Solent partnership, the event aimed to give the students a wide and positive experience of all aspects of university life.
Open season at Teesside
The Summer University is a new initiative, running from June to August, offering study through ‘bite-size’ higher education programmes. Daytime courses offered include Critical Management Skills, Introduction to the Internet, Family History, Word Processing. Evening sessions include Learning and Study Skills, Dissertation and Report Writing.
