Media City Trip

This week some of UCLan FoundationCampus' aspiring journalists went on a day trip to Manchester's Media City. 

Media City is a 200 acre site on the Manchester Ship Canal which is home to the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), ITV (a network of television channels in the UK) and a vast number of other media related businesses e.g. casting companies and TV equipment hire but is also home to various other tenants such as museums, sports companies and private housing.

Five lucky MFP students who are due to progress onto media related Masters programmes in September, including MA International Journalism, MA Animation and MSc Applied International Communication, received a free ticket from their MFP Research Methods tutor Kelly, to watch 'Countdown,' one of the longest running game shows in the world, be filmed.

The students told us they were surprised at how small the studio was with only 3 rows of seats in the audience.  They saw three shows filmed on the day with hosts and contestants changing their clothes in between filming each episode.

An added bonus for our international students who are studying English with us alongside their academic subjects is that the game show is related to the English Language as contestants have to create words using given letters receiving points for the longest word.  Each audience member was given a pad and paper to play along and we hear Leo was a dab hand at solving the Maths problems.

Students had a great day seeing a very busy, thriving media hub and the inside of a television studio, an environment which they would like to work in in the future.

Deng, Leo, Meng, Hana and Lynne with
hostess Rachel Riley (far left)

FoundationCampus Students become UCLan Graduates

Here are a few photos from UCLan's graduation ceremony last week.  These students studied with us a few years ago and it was our pleasure to see them on their graduation day as a reminder to both staff and students what we are all here for.  What a fantastic achievement, well done all! 

Graduation 2013

On 21st June 2013 we held a graduation ceremony for our September students who have now completed their Programmes.


Students from the Undergraduate Foundation Programme, Master's Foundation Programme and English Language Module who have now successfully completed their courses will go on to study their chosen degrees at UCLan. 


A representative from the International Office joined us at graduation with offer letters for students.  Those that had passed and already paid their deposits for UCLan also received a CAS number which is necessary for students wishing to apply for a Student Visa, ensuring a very early and therefore, hopefully, a quick and stress-free visa application.

Following a speech by James Martin, Centre Head, that focussed on achievements and highlighted the successes that students have enjoyed over the last 9 months we presented certificates to our graduating students who were visibly proud to receive them.

We were also joined by students' friends and family, a number of members of the UCLan International Office Team, catering staff and our colleagues at UCLan who are all actively involved in working with FoundationCampus UCLan throughout the year and a special thanks was extended to them.

After the ceremony students, staff and guests were invited to join us for a complimentary buffet and an opportunity to have photographs taken by a professional photographer. 

A huge congratulations to all of students.  Well done on working hard to receive the much needed results and best of luck in your upcoming degrees.  Come back and visit us.

Although a number of students have now left we are back in business this week now that our January students have returned to complete their courses which will end in August.  We are very much looking forward to celebrating their success with them and, of course, enjoying another complimentary buffet.

While the students are away!

Today staff at FoundationCampus UCLan were able to take advantage of the 'quiet' period while students are away having two weeks break from lessons. 

Katie, Ruth, Aimee and Sam spent their lunch hour today outside enjoying the nice weather and green parks of Preston by trying out cycling.  They spent an hour at Moor Park, only minutes walk from the FoundationCampus centre, giving it a go at UCLan's Bike Week.

Preston is a great place to cycle with numerous parks, bicycle lanes and the newly opened Guild Wheel, a 21 mile 'Greenway' which links the city of Preston to local countryside, which is perfect for cycling and walking enthusiasts.



There are lots of activities throughout the year in partnership with the local council so if you are interested in cycling in Preston feel free to get in touch or contact www.cycling.org.uk for more details.

Thumbs Up for Architecture at UCLan

Great news for our aspiring architects; UCLan's BSc (Hons) Architecture course has been awarded official accreditation from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) after the Institute inspected the course, staffing, research and facilities.

Congratualtions to UCLan on this fantastic achievement. 

You can read more about this here; http://www.uclan.ac.uk/news/thumbs_up_for_architecture.php.

Goodbye September MFP!

Party time

Today is the last day of lessons for our September start MFP students.  They have sat through their last lessons, delivered their final presentations and uploaded the last of their coursework to Turnitin for assessment.

It's been a challenging but enjoyable year for all concerned but our students have been looking very pleased with themselves all week.

Today students had a mini presentation with their English teachers, Sam and Nicola, who presented them with certificates relating to their experiences at UCLan.  It was all good fun and students received awards for their individual contribution to their group.  Awards that were given out included 'Class Clown,' 'Most Competitive,' 'Best Shoes' and 'Worst Tuesday Morning Attendance.'

Students pose with their teacher, Nicola, and their certificates

Many of our students will also be out tonight celebrating their achievements with some of their teachers.

Now they are eagerly awaiting their scores and crossing their fingers that every one of them progresses to UCLan in September to undertake their chosen Master's degree, but they will have to wait until our graduation ceremony on 21st June to find out just how well they have done. 

Congratulations on a great year; it has been a pleasure to have you all around the centre.  Good luck and do come back and visit us next year!

Going to the Zoo

Last week our English Language Module (ELM) Higher Group students visited Blackpool and went on a class trip to the zoo.  They enjoyed great weather, a trip down the Blackpool strip to the famous Blackpool Tower and had some free time to go shopping.

To ensure their fun day out incorporated a great deal of language learning, students were put into mixed nationality groups so they had to speak English to each other and were given worksheets to complete on their trip round the zoo which was followed by a quiz.  Students also had to buy their own lunch and souvenirs, take the bus and ask questions in English.




What is Blackpool rock?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_(confectionery)

This was a great opportunity for students learning English to put some of their classroom learning into a real life setting and gave them a great deal of confidence in interacting with different people to meet necessary aims; eating, getting from one place to another etc.



Students reported that they had a really good day out.  Blackpool is a traditional British seaside resort which they had the pleasure of visiting and as a bonus, students were treated to a stick of Blackpool rock by their teacher Victoria.