More than 170 Year seven students from Frederick Irwin Anglican School in Mandurah learnt about the variety of areas they could study at University and how these studies can lead to rewarding and exciting career opportunities Wednesday.
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The Aspire program at The University of Western Australia engages with year 7 to 12 students in the Peel region to raise tertiary aspirations as the region has one of the lowest transfer rates of students into university – a rate of 11.3 per cent, well below the WA state average of 20.7 per cent (2014).
“From the school visits we hope to change the perception that some young people have that a University education is difficult to attain,” Aspire UWA School Partnerships Coordinator Clare Senior said.
“Our aim is to show students support is there for them to aspire to tertiary education and help them understand how much variety and choice there is to get into a career they are passionate about.”
In one of the activities, students heard from Alcoa volunteers about their university experience and resulting career pathways.
Alcoa is a sponsor Aspire UWA’s activities with 14 schools in the Peel region. Students tested their maths, teamwork and technology skills coding Spheros, small programmable robots, to navigate toward a target.
Kirsten, Morghan and Luke showcased their accurate coding skills and won the programming challenge set.
All three students are interested in going to university and are considering a variety of courses including architecture, agricultural science and sports science.
When asked how Aspire activities impacted their thoughts about university, Kirsten Van Der Linde said: “I used to be nervous about the work, but now it sounds really fun and I think I’d enjoy it and I know there are different things that I can choose, and I can switch courses if I change my mind”.
