Tuesday 23 November 2010

OLIVIA'S STORY

In May I told you about the Stepping Stones Celebration at Tiger Tiger where I spent the evening with Olivia and Kari, two of our fantastic looked-after young people, and their foster carers. I was so impressed with these two young women that I asked them to write to me about their experiences and Olivia has justsent me this...

"During the summer holidays I took part in two summer schools – one at Hull University and one at Cambridge University. I enjoyed both summer schools and gained a better knowledge on life as a university student. I attended Hull University at the beginning of July. I felt very welcome when I arrived and soon settled in. We stayed in the student accommodation which wasn’t too bad apart from the fact I had no television. During the day we travelled down to the university and sat through lectures on university life, law and computer science. These were very interesting and expanded my knowledge of university. We also had practical lessons on medical science where we were given real life scenarios and had the chance to examine evidence and play the role of doctors and use medical equipment to solve the mysterious illnesses. During the evenings we did a range of activities from going to the cinema to having a disco. Throughout the week we worked with university students and had the chance to ask them our questions. During the first week of August I attended Cambridge summer school. We also stayed in student accommodation but I didn’t really like these as they were like flats and quite frightening. Throughout the day we travelled to the university and had lectures on student life and finances. We also had lectures from a top law firm, Clifford Chance, and had the chance to solve a real case as lawyers either for or against the defendant. I really enjoyed this as I hope to go to university to study law and maybe one day become a lawyer. We worked with university students who made us feel at home and gave us an insight on their experiences as a student.  Overall I enjoyed both summer schools and now have a better understanding on university life. I would definitely recommend the summer schools and am glad I was given this opportunity.This story show us what is possible for our looked-after children and the brilliant work that Julie Pocklington and Ken Campbell, our Stepping Stones team, are doing with the CLCs and students from the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan Iniversity. It's great to know what a difference this fantastic intiative that is making where it really matters.
Olivia."


Chris

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