Tuesday
We kicked off our half term Step Up Move On activities with a brand-new Year 7 group! We always admire the young people for having the courage to attend their first visit and this group were no exception! It began with anxiety and worries about meeting new people but ended with lots of energy and friendships formed. We visited the University of Hull for a fun campus tour and finished with some strength and conditioning sport activities. All of them absolutely loved their introduction to university life and showed enormous resilience. What an achievement! Whilst in the Sports Centre one young fan even managed to get a few autographs from the Hull FC players who were training creating a memory that will last him a lifetime!
The young people are so excited for their next visit and we can’t wait to watch their journey!
Wednesday
Exploring a different city and a different university was our focus on Wednesday with our Step Up Move On Year 11s. York St John University hosted a wonderful session and made us feel very welcome. We explored the campus and had a taste of being a university student for the day.
Following our ‘studying’ we took a tour around the sights in York and ended with a fright at York Dungeon!
Thursday
Thursday saw Year 10 Step Up Move On students visit the University of Hull for a day of kindness and respect. This group are working on their ASDAN certificate in Animal Care this year so we invited Carina & Keeley from the East Riding Branch of the RSPCA in the morning to talk about how to look after your pets and the 5 Freedoms. They brought along one of their beautiful cats ‘Sam’ who enjoyed exploring his new surroundings! In the afternoon, Jo from Underdog International introduced us to different dog behaviour and human volunteers: Toni, Margaret, Simon and Gemma, brought their therapy dogs: Lola, George, Bertie and Dash. The young people learned how to teach the dogs tricks and of course there was plenty of time for cuddles and fun!
Saturday
There were so many magic moments on Saturday with Step Up Move On at Hull Truck Theatre.
A group of 14 - 17 year old girls from the Step Up Move On programme were invited to a workshop with Emma from The Wollstonecraft Society and a performance of Pilot Theatre’s production of 'Mary and the Hyenas'. It was an educational and empowering, motivational and uplifting performance which truly inspired the young women attending. We were privileged to meet the actors for a Q&A session at the end of the performance and I was so proud of how the girls had grown in confidence throughout their day.
We also visited Hull New Theatre this February with Year 10 and 11 students to support their GCSE English. It was amazing to hear the young people discussing the play 'An Inspector Calls' which showed that watching the play has really helped their understanding of the plot and themes. One young person said: "It was amazing to see the words we have learned in class come to life!"
A huge THANK YOU to The Ferens Education Trust for supporting this programme.