The Bulmershe School
“Our school hosts over 40 volunteers a year and we truly appreciate the hundreds of hours that the University volunteers have given up to work with our staff and students and we hope that they have benefitted from the experience as much as our students have.
The ‘Students in Schools’ programme is an exceptionally valuable scheme and it would not work without dedicated volunteers who are willing to give up their time and expertise to support and inspire our students.
It is so important for young people to have good, relatable role models to aspire towards and we thank all of our volunteers for providing our students with such good examples of altruism and generosity.”
Annemarie Davies, The Bulmershe School
Redlands Primary School
“Redlands is in the heart of a widely diverse community, and we currently have 43 languages spoken in our school. The 1-1 language support provided by some of the student volunteers has been particularly helpful, as some children arrive with us unable to speak any English. Being able to communicate with someone in a child’s own heritage language helps newcomers to feel more at ease and to settle in to school more quickly.
However, the volunteers offer far more than just 1-1 language support. We have benefited from specific curriculum help in reading, writing, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages. The students have been placed in every year group across the school, so children in all classes have been supported by them at some stage.
Many students tell us how much they enjoy volunteering at Redlands. Some who are considering a post-graduate teacher training qualification say that their experience with us has helped them to clarify that decision, whilst others have commented on how much they have learnt and gained on a personal level from their time with us. Working with children is not always easy but it certainly is rewarding and many have requested to return for a second (or even third) year because they feel they benefit so much from it.
All in all, the scheme is clearly a mutually beneficial one for all concerned and we hope that our involvement with it continues for many years to come.”
Sarah Bergson, Redlands Primary School