The Widening Participation & Outreach team can offer in-person activities with local Primary School students, most typically in Year 6. The boroughs we most often work with are Hounslow, Ealing, and Hillingdon.
There are many benefits to speaking with Primary School students and parents/carers about future education and career options. Interaction with a university can help young students understand the huge range of courses and careers potentially open to them.
Great Science Share
The Great Science Share is the award-winning campaign that invites KS2-4 students to share their own scientific questions and investigations, to raise the profile of science in schools and communities, and to be inspired into science and engineering. This year’s campaign theme inspires students to explore cross-curricular, cross-nation, and cross-community science topics.
The Institute of Education’s Primary Science team collaborates with the Outreach team each year to host the free Great Science Share project and exciting campus visit. We especially target and invite Year 5 children who may not have had such experiences before, and aim to develop children’s science capital through sharing their enquiry and ideas with children from other schools.
A ‘Science Share Team’ will consist of 5 or 6 school pupils, from Year 5. Each school taking part can sign up 2 Science Share Teams (so up to 12 Year 5 pupils can take part per school).
As we aim to widen access to Higher Education, we ask schools to invite Year 5 students from a range of underrepresented backgrounds including:
- pupils with a disability
- pupils eligible for Free School Meals/Pupil Premium
- Young Carers (looking after someone at home - e.g., a parent with a disability)
- pupils from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups
- pupils from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
- pupils who would be the first in their family to go to university.
If you are interested in registering your school for this opportunity, please express your interest to megan.simmons@stmarys.ac.uk.
Great Science Share 2024
In 2024, we hosted the Great Science Share on our St Mary’s campus for 5 teams from 3 different schools in the area (William Byrd Primary Academy, Southville Primary School – Home, and Hogarth Primary School).
These students shared the experiments they had performed at schools to other schools, and found out more about what other schools were doing. They also took part in STEM challenges with Primary Education university students, had a tour round the university, and had a science demonstration from Andrew Hanson from the National Physical Laboratory.
Activities delivered in school or on a campus visit to St Mary's could include:
- introduction to University workshop (think-pair-share activities; workbook activity)
- Q&A with current St Mary's University students and 'Design a University Mascot' workshop
- if on campus, a tour with a 'treasure hunt' theme.
To express interest in an activity or visit, please contact schools.colleges@stmarys.ac.uk or call 020 8240 4247.
We have several online activities available for Primary School students taking part in the Ealing Children's University programme. Take a look!
In this video we show you around the St Mary's University campus in Twickenham. Our Student Ambassadors will explain all the key areas where they study, exercise and have fun at university.
Watch the video tour carefully, and complete the worksheet to show you know you way around campus!
Activity guidance - please work with an adult helper and use cookery equipment safely.
Our university students have learned to cook meals and snacks - try making this one! Bianca will show you how to make overnight oats. You will need:
- 40g porridge oats
- Pot of yoghurt (flavour of your choice)
- Fruit of your choice
- A bowl/ deep mug.
Activity guidance - please work with an adult helper and use cookery equipment safely
Our university students have learned to cook meals and snacks - try making this one! Pippy will show you how to make pasta with feta cheese. You will need:
- pasta of your choice
- cherry tomatoes
- one block of Feta cheese
- olive oil
- two garlic cloves
- fresh basil
- seasoning of your choice.
Activity guidance - please work with an adult helper and use cookery equipment safely
Our university students have learned to cook meals and snacks - try making this one! Valentina will show you how to make tabbouleh! This is possibly the quickest recipe our Ambassadors create, and it is made with vegetables and couscous. You will need:
- one tomato
- one cucumber
- parsley
- garlic
- salt
- couscous.
Activity guidance - please work with an adult helper and use cookery equipment safely
Our university students have learned to cook meals and snacks - try making this one! Jess will show you how to make a fruit smoothie. You will need:
- a blender or smoothie maker AND an adult helper who can use this safely
- one chopped banana
- mango chunks
- handful of mixed berries
- soya milk
- ice
- vanilla soya yoghurt
- sugar.
Activity guidance - please work with an adult helper and use cookery equipment safely
Our university students have learned to cook meals and snacks - try making this one! Laura will show you how to make Hungarian hash browns. You will need:
- 2 courgettes
- 1 egg
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- salt and pepper
- oil of your choice
- 2 small bunches of parsley
- 2 tablespoons of plain flour.
You will also need a frying pan, a wooden spoon, a large mixing bowl, and a big cheese grater.
Activity guidance - please work with an adult helper and use cookery equipment safely
Our university students have learned to cook meals and snacks - try making this one! Ahmed will make a special treat for dessert- this is no everyday milkshake! You will need:
- a blender or smoothie maker AND an adult helper who can use this safely
- 2 bananas
- your favourite chocolate bar
- your preferred dairy or non-dairy milk
- half a tablespoon of hot chocolate powder
- 3 tablespoons of vanilla ice cream
- whipped cream (optional).