YOUNGSTERS from four York primary schools got an early taste of university life.

York St John University's 'Let's Do Uni Club' offered the children - from Woodthorpe, Westfield, Park Grove and St Lawrence's primary schools - a chance to take part in academic lessons, including history and nursing, and to find out a bit more about what university might be like.

Throughout the week the children created a gallery of work based on their on-campus experiences.

The sessions inspired one little girl who took part to write: 'I would like to persue a career as a fashion designer'.

In her diary, she added: "Today I had my first lesson, about how people get infected. Then, I did a experiment about the bones in the human body."

Parents and guardians were invited to a special follow-up event to view their children’s work and discuss the week’s benefits.

More than 40 family members took part - and were full of praise for the club.

In response to feedback questions one parent said of their child: “Exploring the campus and various subjects, they changed from a child who always said he doesn't want to attend university, to a child who absolutely does! He’s so inspired to be more creative.”

Rachel Glennon, the education outreach coordinator at York St John University, said: “It was fantastic to hear about the impact this experience has had on young people and their families, including one mum of a participant with additional needs who praised our inclusive approach, and a parent who wrote that the experience has changed their child’s perceptions of university.

"As a result of attending, the child now sees university as a part of their future.”

Research shows that encouraging children to think about the future at an early age reaps real benefits.

A 2016 UCAS survey found that children who know they want to enter higher education by age 10 or earlier are 2.6 times more likely to end up at a competitive university than someone who decided in their late teens.

Rachel said: “As a former primary school teacher, I feel that younger pupils are so enthusiastic, open-minded and receptive to ideas about their futures – it is an ideal time to show them the scope of options that are available and a taster of what university is like. “It is my hope that this is an experience that will stick with them into secondary school and give them the confidence to be ambitious in their aspirations.”

The next phase of the project sees York St John University student volunteers visit the same primary schools to take part in guided reading with KS2 pupils from January.