Belong, Believe, Achieve - A Cardiff Collaboration
Cardiff University’s Classroom Experience Project has been working with Willows High School since 2022 to place student volunteers in Classroom Assistant roles.
Willows High School is a secondary school serving the areas of Splott, Tremorfa and Adamstown in Cardiff. Around 55% of the pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average of 17%. Around 68% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas in Wales.
Following initial discussions with school governors about creating bespoke projects to increase the overall impact on pupils, this project recruited 10 Cardiff University students to work directly with Willows’ staff and pupils on new projects aligned to the school’s improvement plan.
Belong, Believe, Achieve
The project supported Willow’s school motto “Belong, Believe, Achieve” which underpins their belief that every pupil can succeed with strong academic and pastoral support in a safe and respectful environment. Kelly Bubbins, Deputy Headteacher at Willows High School, said,
“Whilst Willows is deemed a ‘disadvantaged’ school by outsiders, we are tirelessly fighting to break this stereotype. We want our pupils to channel their strengths into aspirational lifestyles. For example, many of our pupils are resilient and independent but haven’t had the experiences or role models to encourage them to channel this into attending Higher Education. Over recent years, the ‘Classroom Experience Project’ has benefitted many of our pupils by putting University students directly in their line of sight.”
The project supported Willows pupils to realise their aspirations through targeted support in key areas identified in the school’s improvement plan, to include
- Literacy - raising reading ages
- Well-being - emotional support
- More Able and Talented - getting pupils interested / aware of university.
- Science - raising GCSE results.
Cardiff University students planned and coordinated a campus visit for participating pupils to explore a range of subject areas and experience university life.
The project positively impacted the pupils as well as the students undertaking the roles by:
- Realising aspirations and confidence building– for both Willow’s pupils and Cardiff University students
- Willows High School benefited from more student volunteers focusing on key areas or school priority
- Cardiff University students developed valuable employability skills
In the long-term graduate prospects increased as students have relevant experience, confidence and increased skills.
