2025 Stretch & Challenge Summer School

Aspiring learners from Solihull Sixth Form College have been getting a head start on their post-college plans by attending the Stretch & Challenge Summer School, which aims to extending students’ learning and prepare them for the challenge of Higher Education applications.

The highest achieving students in Year 12 at the College signed up to additional subject sessions and guest lectures to stretch their learning beyond the A level curriculum. With many of these learners aspiring to apply to prestigious Russell Group universities, requiring early applications, interviews and admissions tests, these sessions challenged them to think critically and explore topics outside their current areas of study.

The two-day Summer School began with a visiting speaker from a Russell Group university. Dr Marta Guerriero, Associate Professor in Global Sustainable Development at the University of Warwick, delivered a lecture on Global Sustainable Development, which challenged students to consider the three pillars of sustainable development - society, environment and economy. Sarah Large from Mansfield College at the University of Oxford was also present to talk to students about making applications to Oxbridge and other highly competitive universities.

Other visiting speakers at the Summer School included David Metcalfe from the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University, who came in to talk to students who are looking to apply to study Medicine, and Anton Popov from Aston University, who talked to learners about decolonisation. Anne Drakeford from Clifford Chance international law firm was also part of the Summer School programme to offer advice on pursuing a legal career.

College teachers were also part of the Summer School and delivered workshops on Accounting, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Drama, English, Humanities, Mathematics, Media, Modern Languages, Music, Physics, Psychology, Social Sciences, Sport & Health and Visual Arts.

Event organiser and Curriculum Leader for English and Modern Languages Jane McCard commented:

"The majority of our learners have aspirations to go to university and staff at the College do a lot to support students to achieve that ambition. For those who are aiming for the most competitive university destinations, early applications and many challenge obstacles stand in their way. The Stretch & Challenge Summer School is just one of the ways we support those learners to achieve offers from Russell Group universities. It encourages them to get out of their comfort zone and think like an undergraduate learner so that they will be ready for the challenge ahead of them. The academics who gave up their time to support this process have played an important part in helping our young people to stand out from the crowd in the future."

20 June 2025