Senior pupils from Bracoden Primary School in Banff visited the University of Aberdeen on 15 June to get a flavour of life as a student.
Aimed at inspiring youngsters to consider university in the future, they group toured a number of facilities at the Old Aberdeen campus before taking part in a range of hands-on activities.
They got to experience a lecture theatre where they learned about the many sustainable uses of hemp seeds, the nutritional values of various foods and researched the sugar content of various drinks and breakfast cereals with colleagues from the Rowett Institute.
They also undertook activities where they looked at drivers and impacts of climate change with academics from the School of Geosciences before a visit to the Sir Duncan Rice Library where colleagues from Museums & Special Collections showed them some of the articles the University houses, including a giant paper mâché snail, a mini book and some ancient rocks.
The day also include a visit to the Zoology building where the class got to see the museum; a trip to the new Science Teaching Hub and a picnic lunch in Cruickshank Botanic Gardens.
Schools Engagement Officer Pam Cumming said: “It was fantastic welcoming Bracoden School to the University of Aberdeen. We created a programme of activities which gave the pupils the opportunity to feel like students for the day, from time in a lecture theatre to tutorial small group work.
“They also enjoyed visiting a number of our building and hearing from a wide range of colleagues across a variety of disciplines, as well as some downtime in the Cruickshank Botanic Gardens before a long journey back north. We took many photos during the day, including some wearing graduation gowns which the pupils had great fun with and I hope to see many of these young people going on to graduate from the University of Aberdeen in the future.”
Bracoden Head Teacher Lorraine Butler said: “The pupils had a buzz of excitement with the anticipation of visiting the University of Aberdeen. This allowed for discussions about aspirations and thoughts on career paths in the future.
"From the visit there were a few pupils who said they might be interested in going to University now that they knew more about it. They thoroughly enjoyed the programme for the day which was interactive and fun.
"Many thanks to Pam for her engagement with Bracoden over the years and for arranging this excellent visit. We look forward to more in the future.”