After 2 weeks at Buile Hill Visual Arts College in Salford, our Summer School has come to an end! This Summer School is the latest stage of our Transition Project which we are carrying out with the University of Manchester. The project has seen us partner with seven primary schools in Salford to deliver tuition to Year 6 pupils who will be attending Buile Hill this September, and will serve as a study of Tutor Trust's impact on a child's progress from primary to secondary school.

 

In total, 35 pupils came to the Summer School and had a tuition lesson every day followed by a wide range of workshops including: climbing, cooking, problem solving and circus skills led by our tutors and staff from the Tutor Trust and Buile Hill.

The transition from primary to secondary can be difficult but everyone has seen pupils’ confidence and enjoyment develop over the 2 weeks. Professor Carlo Raffo, from the University of Manchester, said:

"The general ethos of the summer school was highly positive and students’ opportunities  to experience the geography of the building, the array of fascinating activities and of course the tutoring interventions appear to have clearly consolidated students’ transition aspirations." In particular, "What I found really inspiring was the quality of authentic dialogue between tutor and tutee during the tutoring session." 

A parent of one of the pupils who attended Summer School also noticed the impact. They said, "He seems much more confident now about starting high school in a couple of weeks as he has already made some new friends, met some of his teachers and knows his way around the school." 

One of the pupils commented on how attending Summer School had helped them and said, “I was worried about making friends but not now thanks to making friends at the Summer School." Thank you to all who helped contribute to a fantastic summer school and we look forward to the next stage of the transition project: tuition for the new Year 7 pupils in September.