St Andrews launches Sutton Trust Summer School

An innovative Summer School offering Scottish school pupils a helping hand towards a University place was officially today (Monday 8 July 2002).

The first intake of around 60 students will be given a one-week taster session at the University of St Andrews Sutton Trust Summer School, the first of its kind in Scotland.

The scheme, aimed at helping young people fulfil their desire to progress to higher education, will operate for a period of one week per year and will focus on those who may have become the first generation of their families to attend university or who attend schools which have little history of generating pupils who progress to university.

The venture is funded by a three- year grant of £90,000 from The Sutton Trust which finances various initiatives in a bid to provide educational opportunities to bright people from non- traditional backgrounds. Similar ventures have been funded by the Trust at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and Nottingham.

Welcoming the first batch of students to the Summer School, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews Dr Brian Lang said, “The Sutton Trust Summer School is a key initiative of the University’s commitment to widening access. We hope that the first intake of students will have a positive, enjoyable and realistic experience at St Andrews which they can take back to their friends and fellow students, spreading the word that a university education is a viable option for all bright people, regardless of their background.”

Meanwhile Chairman and Founder of the Sutton Trust Peter Lampl had this message for the students – “As students on the Sutton Trust’s first sponsored summer school in Scotland, you are blazing an important trail. Welcome to the week, have fun and I hope that it inspires you to apply to St Andrews. Please go back to your schools, work hard and inspire your friends as well to aim for a top university education. In this way, as we have seen at leading English universities, these summer schools will make a profound difference.”

Emphasis will be placed on both academic study and the development of learning skills necessary for success at university level. With a choice of several programmes of academic study across a number of the University’s schools (Chemistry, History, Social Sciences, English, Psychology, Physics and Astronomy, Biology and Mathematics and Statistics), the timetable will follow a typical undergraduate’s first week of term with one core subject, two others and five hours of teaching from Monday to Friday, 9.30am until 4.30pm. Depending on the subject studied, laboratory work or fieldwork may also be undertaken.

Postgraduate student volunteers will be on hand to provide guidance and support to each individual student and, as well as enjoying a host of sporting/recreational activities, the students will be provided with food/accommodation in one of the University’s hall of residence.

For further information, please contact 1. Stan Farrow, Associate Director of Admissions, University of St Andrews, Access Centre, Old Union Building, 79 North Street, St Andrews – telephone 01334 462150 or email access@st- andrews.ac.uk or 2. Kate Stewart, Projects Co-ordinator, The Sutton Trust – telephone 020 8788 3223 or email [email protected].

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS

You are invited to send a reporter/photographer to the University Library, North Street, St Andrews at 10.30am on Monday 8 July 2002 when the 60 students will congregate with the University’s Director of Admissions Stephen Magee.

Issued by Beattie Media on behalf of the University of St Andrews For more information please contact: Claire Grainger on 01334 462530, 07730 415 015 or email cg24@st- andrews.ac.uk or Tim Devlin, Sutton Trust on 01580 893176 or email [email protected] Ref: summer- sutton/standrews/chg/5july2002