A very special graduation took place in December thanks to the partnership between the University of Warwick and national education charity, IntoUniversity.

The graduation ceremony, for Y6 pupils from Frederick Bird School in Coventry, marked the end of FOCUS week, a five-day programme designed to introduce the youngsters to university-style learning and give them a taste of what higher education is all about.

Our transformational new social mobility programme - Warwick Scholars - aims to change the lives of hundreds of young people in the Midlands who have the potential to study at Warwick, one of the world’s top 100 ranked universities, but who may face social or economic barriers to entering Warwick.

The programme focuses on prospective students from disadvantaged backgrounds or groups under-represented in higher education within a 30 mile commute of Warwick’s main campus in Coventry and Warwickshire.

Warwick Scholars will provide participants with an opportunity to reach their full academic potential and prepare for the transition to Warwick, achieving the best possible A Level grades. This will be followed by enhanced support and opportunities when they become students at Warwick, facilitating positive outcomes during their university experience and beyond.

The University of Warwick has teamed up with national educational charity IntoUniversity to launch a new project aimed at raising aspirations and improving educational outcomes for children and young people in Coventry.

The IntoUniversity Coventry centre, based in the Hillfields area of the city, will be run by national education charity IntoUniversity in partnership with the University.

Building on existing outreach programmes the centre will work with up to 1,000 children and young people each year, to help them make the best of their talents and improve their chances of gaining a university place.

The Coventry centre, based in the St Peter’s Centre on Charles Street, is already working with three primary schools, two secondary schools and a Sixth Form college in the area. Over one hundred students have signed up to receive after-school support, access to university-student mentors, workshops and insight into university life.

The University of Warwick is one of the leading Coventry and Warwickshire organisations which have joined together on a major project to support businesses across the region with education and training.

The Collaborate to Train Coventry and Warwickshire project is part funded by the European Social Fund, and aims to improve the ways in which education providers, local authorities and other stakeholders work together with businesses to provide high quality and effective education and training services in a more collaborative, user-led way.

The project, led by WCG (Warwickshire College Group), is especially targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and will look at ways to help them get involved in education and training, in particular through providing additional work experience placements, supported internships, apprenticeships and working with schools.

This year four hundred and twenty pupils took part in the Warwick Bright Stars programme, the University primary school outreach programme.

Warwick student ambassadors with the help of university departments, delivered modules in various subjects such as History, French, Law and Economics.

The aim of the programme was to raise aspirations of local primary children from under-represented backgrounds in Higher Education.

Warwick’s Sutton Trust Summer School provides you with a fantastic opportunity to experience life as if you were a first-year undergraduate! Each subject stream will involve a mix of lectures, seminars or lab sessions, and you will be taught by some of our leading academics and post-graduate students.

You will improve your research and presentation skills through taking part in a group project within your subject, supported by our team of current Warwick students who will be working with you throughout the week.

We have also planned a full social programme for the evenings, including a Formal Dinner on our last night, giving you the all-round student experience!

Find out more about courses available and how to apply.

Young science explorers from across the region will be able to sit in a submarine, search the skies for stars and use physics and chemistry to make ice-cream at the University of Warwick’s Science Gala this month.

The free public event, which takes place on Wednesday 31 January, aims to open the doors of some of the scientific facilities at Warwick, and offer a hands-on experience for children and young people, their teachers and families, as well as anyone interested in finding out more about science and technology.

Following the city’s winning bid to become UK City of Culture, Coventry schoolchildren are taking part in a new competition to bring the idea of cultural exchange and shared heritage to life. The Two Chairs Creative Writing competition, which is open to all across the UK invites people to see the world from the ‘other’ perspective.

Inspired by the Hafez-Goethe Monument of two empty chairs, the competition was started by Dr James Hodkinson of the University of Warwick and asks entrants to write and submit pieces in English or German, whether they be poems, short stories or prose, that express what the chairs say to them.

Prizes of £250 will be awarded to the winners of the Under 18 and Over 18 categories in both English in German.

Willmott Dixon is helping lay the foundations that will attract the next generation of people to the construction industry by offering on-site work experience to hundreds of young people at its University of Warwick project.

Since July, Willmott Dixon has has already welcomed nearly 300 young people to the site through its work experience and site tour programme. The contractor has also been supporting The Prince’s Trust ‘Get Into Construction’ scheme in the Midlands.

Students from both Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and the University of Warwick are also using the project as part of their degree.

Setting crisps on fire, making spinach glow, and detonating hundreds of ping pong balls were just some of the experiments the children attending Warwick’s Christmas lectures were treated to this year.

Mind boggling optical illusions, giant glow sticks, drill-powered umbrellas, and hundreds of bubbles also featured in the interactive shows.

Warwick’s 'Chemistry in schools outreach programme' has been shortlisted in the Times Higher Education Awards 2017 ‘Widening participation or Outreach Initiative of the Year’ category.

The University of Warwick has honoured an acclaimed Classics expert who has helped open up the ancient world to state school pupils including many in Coventry.Professor Paul Cartledge received an honorary doctor of letters (Hon DLitt) from the University of Warwick during its summer graduation ceremonies. Professor Cartledge has had a distinguished career as an academic and is the Honorary Patron of Classics For All.

One the schools currently benefiting from the charity Classics For All, is Coventry’s Sidney Stringer Academy in Coventry, which is acting as a local ‘hub’ for Classics in the region. The University of Warwick is supporting this initiative through the involvement of Michael Scott as director of the Sidney Stringer Classics hub, by inviting the school to take part in a Schools’ Classics Drama Day, and also in a Latin Inscriptions project.

Looking for activities for children over the summer holidays? Check out at what's on offer on campus.

We offer a general scheme for ages 5-14, specialist sports camps or week long themed activites at Warwick Arts Centre.

Girls in Solihull are invited to a tea party next week to celebrate Women in Engineering Day.

The event, at WMG Academy in Chelmsley Road, on Thursday 22nd June, is aimed at encouraging girls into careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

This summer let your children take part in the sports that you know they love, as well as trying something new for the first time. We offer a range of sporting sessions in swimming, tennis, badminton, football and climbing, in a fun, friendly and relaxed environment. It’s also a great way to meet new friends and to get out of the house over the long summer holidays.

Gifted and talented youngsters from less advantaged backgrounds have more opportunities to study at the University of Warwick, thanks to funding of £30,000 from the National Express Foundation.

The bursary will support eight scholars per year - and students from black and ethnic minority (BME) backgrounds, those who grew up in care, and students with disabilities, are encouraged to apply.

Shooting the Past is a new, collaborative project between UniTracks, and the Departments of History and Film & TV at the University of Warwick. The project was one of two options available to the Year 10 UniTracks groups during the spring term (the other being the Big Deal with Warwick Business School).

Campion School, Leamington Spa and Harris Church of England School, Rugby were among the schools who chose to take part.

The University of Warwick, as a part of the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) is working with nine schools and colleges across seven wards in Warwickshire to increase participation in higher education.

Evidence collected by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has shown that there are young people in these areas who are achieving the qualifications they need to benefit from higher education, but are not currently doing so.

Last week the WMG Academy for Young Engineers race team, Academy Racing, won 3 awards at the regional F1 in schools competition finals and motored their way into the national finals hosted by Silverstone Circuit, the home of British motor racing.

The regional finals took place at the Shireland Collegiate Academy in Smethwick. Academy racing, headed up by Eddie Hodierne (17) won awards for best research and development, best team identity and were awarded second place overall.

We are excited to announce the first February halfterm Scheme.

Our holiday scheme programme has been created with the help of primary educationalists to answer a real need in the University community and beyond.

Visit our holiday scheme webpages for more information and to book.

Local budding engineers from a Coventry’s Howes Primary School will be working alongside researchers from WMG, at the University of Warwick, to get a taste of what a career in engineering is really like by building and racing their own electric vehicles.