Schools, colleges and community
Primary
We deliver a range of assemblies, workshops and information sessions for students in Years 3 to 6 in schools in Leicester*. Aimed at raising aspirations, attainment and knowledge of university, all our sessions are led by University of Leicester staff and/or student ambassadors. All sessions can be delivered in your school, or virtually.
We also offer two enhanced programmes for primary schools in Leicester: Primary Partner Schools and Mathletics. We also partner with IntoUniversity to support their primary focus weeks.
If you’d like to get in touch to discuss support, book an activity, or have another query, please email schools@le.ac.uk and we will respond within five working days. Please note: we are also only able to offer non-primary partner schools one Why University assembly and one workshop (delivered on the same day) each academic year.
*Due to resourcing, we prioritise primary schools using several metrics which include locality, % of students who claim free school meals (FSM) and % of cohort living in Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile 1.
Our primary outreach offering
Assemblies
Why university?
This assembly gives students an introduction to university (what it is, how it differs from school, what you could study) and includes some fun true and false games.
Recommended for Years 3 - 6.
Humanities workshops
South Asian soldiers during the second World War
This session teachers students about the role of Indians in World War II. Covering where they fought, the role of women in the army and the partition of India after the war.
Recommended for Year 6.
Deciphering Dickens' code
This session gives students the opportunity to explore Charles Dickens’ use of shorthand. The lesson introduces students to shorthand as a form of ‘coded’ language and encourages them to consider who might use it and why. Students will then learn about the Victorian writer, Charles Dickens, and the shorthand system that he used. Subsequently, the session asks students to take part in a variety of ‘decoding’ activities, before writing their own coded messages.
Recommended for Years 5 - 6.
STEM workshops
Living on the ISS
This session introduces young people to the idea of living in space, on board the International Space Station. Students explore the idea of gravity and design a bedroom for the ISS. This also includes videos from UK astronaut, Tim Peake.
Recommended for Years 5 - 6.
Materials
This session encourages students to consider why certain materials are used in spacecraft, getting them to test how effective different materials are under specific conditions.
Recommended for Years 5 - 6.
Forces and rockets
This session introduces students to the concept of gravity and the challenges of living with microgravity in space. Students will also have the opportunity to learn how rockets can be used to transport people and materials into space. (This activity includes an outdoor experiment).
Recommended for Years 5 - 6.
Biology in the box
This KS2 session comprises several options including a bug scavenger hunt, crafting a bug, a symmetry task and building a bug hotel. We usually decide on the activities based on the year group of students.
Recommended for Years 4 - 6.
Exploring sustainability
This classroom-based workshop aims to explore the effects of carbon, introducing the concept of global warming and thinking about what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint and help the planet. After the workshop, students will have the opportunity to plant bulbs on the school premises. All bulbs and equipment will be provided. You just need to provide an area for students to plant.
Recommended for Years 4 - 6.