January 2015

UCB welcomes young researchers

Read time: approx 1 mins

UCB held a lecture for its youngest students to date when primary school children were welcomed to McIntyre House. 

More than 50 pupils aged 6–10, attended a university-style lecture on research methods and how they can apply them to their school projects. 

As part of their visit, the children spoke to lecturers and were given a tour of the new building. They were particularly impressed by the facilities in ThinkSpace, with one child remarking it was “quiet and green, like being in the countryside.” 

“I have learned that, if you are researching something, someone has probably written research in that area before,” said a pupil. “So it’s a good idea to use libraries to find books and journals on that subject.” 

It has been a lovely opportunity for the pupils to see how real research works and to find out about ethical research methods. It will be very useful for our school project. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the tour of McIntyre House, especially because they are the first school children to do so.

Lauren Graftor, a teacher at Colmore Junior School

UCB was delighted to welcome this group of young researchers. They were keen to learn more about the ways to gather information to support their own projects. Their levels of maturity and responses to being in a university environment were impressive and we certainly feel that there are some talented future researchers out there. We are looking forward to hearing all about the childrens findings when they return in July for the Young Researchers conference.

Debbie Reel, lecturer at UCB’s School of Education and Community

The pupils’ visit was part of the Young Researchers Project, an initiative led by Colmore Partnership Teaching School Alliance (CPTSA), a group of 11 schools committed to making a positive impact on children’s life choices, creating opportunities for professional development and achieving excellence. The CPTSA was represented at UCB by teachers and pupils from Colmore Infant and Nursery School, Colmore Junior School, Rookery Primary, Lyndon Green Infant School and WoodthorpePrimary School.

Back to top