Friday, 12 October 2012

A warm welcome to 2012/13, by Centre Head Mary Wade


Welcome to the 2012/13 academic year! 
 
It is so nice to have students in the centre again after our short summer break.  Induction week began on Monday 1st October and you can find photographs of our students meeting each other, the teachers and receiving talks from the Student’s Union, the Health Centre, the Police and the Fire Service as well as FoundationCampus staff on our Facebook and Flickr page.  It also included our usual trip to Blackpool to have fish and chips and enjoy the Blackpool illuminations – a traditional British institution. 
 
Today is the last day of their first week of study and the students are really starting to settle down.  They will have met their personal tutors for the first time this week.  The personal tutors are a very important part of the student journey through FoundationCampus and lead a programme throughout the year that gives an introduction to study in the UK, helping the students with study strategies, but also gives the students an opportunity to talk about any personal problems and to reflect on living life in another culture. 
 
It’s important to recognise that students on our Foundation programmes are not only here to study but are also experiencing enormous changes outside the classroom, getting used to living away from their family and in a new culture.  Studying on a foundation year gives the students the opportunity to experience these challenges outside the classroom before they start their degree or masters, ensuring they will be able to focus on their study to achieve the best qualification possible.  It also gives them a chance to share their learning with people who are going through the same changes.  Most of our students stay friends throughout their time at university. 
 
Please keep checking our blog to share the 2012/13 year with us.  We’ll have regular postings from staff and students and photographs and videos to keep you up to date.

Best wishes.

 

Mary

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