Student Newsletter Issue 5
Leavers and Summer Holidays!
School’s out and summer is in! With everyone staying more locally this year, we wanted to let you know what is going on around the area to keep everyone busy over the summer months!
We also have the Future Steps online chat service available over the summer to support with any questions about your next steps including university, apprenticeships, careers and much more! We would love to hear from you and help to answer your questions, so drop in and say hi!
Enjoy your summer!
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1 Outreach Summer Activity
With campuses empty and schools out, the summer holiday is usually a buzz of exciting outreach activity – with summer schools and residentials a plenty. While COVID-19 has forced these physical events to be cancelled, many institutions have seen this as an opportunity to flip their activity on its head and create exciting virtual content.
Some of the highlights from our partner institutions include:
Solent University’s 52 Things to do
Bournemouth University’s Explore Your Options
University of Portsmouth’s Thinking About Uni
Solent University’s Interactive Presentations for Post-16 Learners
Make sure to also check out the NCS’s Staying Connected Hub and Keep Doing Good campaign too!
The Southampton Cultural Education Partnership also has lots of varied things to do over the summer!
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2 Things to do on your summer holiday
This year’s summer might not be the year for dream vacations or big adventures, but perhaps one for making the small things special. This could be taking the time to enjoy the weather, enjoying the moments you share with your family and friends, eating new things or just indulging yourself in the old favourites.
To help you think about what you might want to do, how about writing a bucket list of things to do over the holiday. Put anything on your list, easy things like calling in on a friend for a catch up or impossible things like going to the moon – you probably won’t go to the moon, but it might inspire you to get close!
Remember not to put pressure on yourself to finish the list, you could do nothing from the list and still have a fantastic summer holiday. It’s just a great place to look when you’re not sure what to do. Below are a couple of other lists that you could use to inspire your own.
Things to do at home this Summer Holiday
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3 The greatest adventure might be just outside your door!
While you probably won’t have the chance to run across America like Rob, there will still be lots of adventure to be had in your local area. With the pandemic having filled up the beaches and normal beauty spots beyond what many feel comfortable with, now is the perfect time to explore your local area and find those hidden gems.
A fantastic way to explore your local area is through Geocaching. Geocaching is where you use a mobile phone or a GPS device to seek containers or geocaches. A typical cache is a small waterproof container with a logbook and pencil where you can leave your name or nickname. Use the link below to see just how many geocaches there are in your local area!
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4 Let the good times roll
For many of us, lockdown has been hard. Not being able to see friends and family or go to school and college might have been really challenging for you. But hopefully amongst the challenge, there’s been some good times too.
As restrictions begin to ease, what better time to reflect on some of the things you’ve enjoyed most during this time. Maybe you’ve managed to get creative with artwork, creating music or producing TikTok videos!
Or maybe you’ve had some virtual movie nights with friends. Perhaps you’ve started going for regular walks or runs or even taken part in PE with Joe and are loving being more active. Whatever it is that’s brought you joy over the last few months, now’s the time to remember the good!
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5 Next Steps for College or Sixth Form Leavers
If you’ve just left college or sixth form, it can feel like there’s a lot of decisions to make! Our Future Steps resource has some useful information and tips about Clearing, UCAS Extra, Adjustment and Making a Late Application to university.
There’s time over the summer to take stock and decide what you want to do next. If the university route isn’t the one for you, why not check out the National Apprenticeship Service where you’ll find lots of information about Higher and Degree Apprenticeships.
As always, there are lots of people out there who can help you think about your next steps. Talk to family, friends and of course teachers and support staff from your sixth form or college. Your exciting future awaits!