Event

Residential Summer School

Date and time
Tuesday, 15 July 2025 -
Thursday, 17 July 2025

Location
Kedleston Road, Derby Campus
Kedleston Road
Derby
DE22 1GB

Year group: Year 10
Maximum size of group: 4 students from each school (mixed gender)

#WPDerby

Our Residential Summer School is an exciting opportunity for students to experience university life through a range of on-campus activities over three days, whilst staying overnight at our Halls of Residence. Students will take part in a range of taster sessions and social activities, all designed to increase confidence and awareness of the opportunities available within Higher Education.

Proposed schedule of activities*

The Year 10 Residential Summer School will take place over three days and two nights. 

*Please note our schedule is subject to change.

Day Activity

Tuesday 15 July

Introductions and ice breaker activities 

Why go to university?

Taster sessions

Campus tours

Wednesday 16 July

Escape rooms 

Murder mystery 

Skills session

Group projects

Thursday 17 July

 

Sports sessions

Union of Students talk 

Group projects

Awards ceremony

Reviews

Hear what students and their parents had to say about our Residential Summer School:

Students

"Memorable experience and changed my plans for the future for the better. I met some incredible people through incredible opportunities, all thanks to the Summer School. And the food was well good"

- Dom, Summer School participant 2024

"The most exciting and activity packed trip I've experienced. I've met so many people that I speak to still to this day. The University opened me up to new opportunities. The food was so flavourful, and the dominos was delicious! The Halls of Residence were also spacious and had their own bathrooms. I would 100% go again!"

- Kara, Summer School participant 2024

Parents

"Thank you for giving my son the opportunity to go on the residential at the University. He really enjoyed his time there and it was an eye opener for him. With his friends he’s quite confident, but when out of his comfort zone he is the complete opposite. The residential really helped bring him out of his comfort zone and he had a really good time

Since returning he is more focussed on his next steps when leaving school. Before the visit he was cruising through and did not realise that leaving school was fast approaching. He now has a better idea of what he needs to put in place before he leaves school.  

Thank you again for the opportunity. I really think the university trip helped massively at the time he needed it. Any child who has this opportunity I’m sure would say the same thing."

- Kristy Dodds - Summer School participant parent 2024

100%of students rated the summer school as good or excellentWidening Participation evaluation data 2023
90%of students felt that summer school helped them feel like they would fit in at universityWidening Participation evaluation data 2023
90%of students agreed they were thinking about applying to HE in the futureWidening Participation evaluation data 2023

Frequently asked questions

We prioritise young people from widening participation backgrounds on our events, as well as specific targeted widening participation cohorts in line with the University of Derby's Access and Participation Plan (APP).

  • Pupil Premium students
  • Students in receipt of free school meals (FSM)
  • Some ethnic sub-groups, including young people from Black and Asian communities, and White males from economically disadvantaged backgrounds
  • Young people in local authority care (LAC) or care experienced students
  • Young people with caring responsibilities
  • Young people who are estranged from their families
  • Those from traveller communities
  • Young people who have parents/carers in the armed forces
  • Refugees or asylum seekers
  • Young people with mental health problems, specific learning difficulties, and/who are on the autism spectrum
  • Students who live within the 40% most deprived wards based on IMD postcode data
  • Those from Young Participation Rate quintile 1 and 2 based on POLAR4 postcode data
  1. Book your school on to the Summer School by emailing wpteam@derby.ac.uk (complete by March 2025)
  2. The Widening Participation team will ask you to complete a form detailing the WP criteria of the students selected (complete by April 2025) 
  3. The Widening Participation team will confirm students have a place on the Summer School (complete by May 2025)
  4. Schools to share consent forms and links to parents/carers (complete by June 2025)
  5. Schools to share resources and links to students (complete by July 2025)

No. All students are supervised by University staff members throughout the days and nights. Appropriate safeguarding and risk assessment measures are put in place, so school staff are not required to attend.

However, we work with school staff regarding the following things:

  • To ensure all students' paperwork is completed in advance of the event
  • To arrange travel to and from the event
  • To authorise absence from school for students to attend the event
  • To provide an emergency contact number and named person from the school