Portable Roadshow Case Studies
Aimhigher West London
In January 2007, Aimhigher West London organised for the roadshow to visit a local youth club one Saturday.
The OK Youth Club, situated in a deprived estate in the south of Brent, has a full-time Connexions Personal Advisor. The roadshow was designed to raise the aspirations of the most 'hard to reach' teenagers, which could then be followed up by the Personal Advisor.
What the organisers initially thought of as a problem turned out to work in their favour. The roadshow trailer could not park near the youth club so the presentations had to take place inside the club. Since many of the participants who attended were not regulars at the club, it gave them a good opportunity to have a look inside, use the computer room to check out the Aimhigher website and enjoy a free lunch whilst mixing with the other participants and staff.
There were five sessions throughout the day, delivered by Charlotte Nassem, from the roadshow team, and the Brent Aimhigher Coordinator. According to Aimhigher practitioner and event organiser, Peter Boursnell:
"The event hit just the right note with the youngsters."
Peter believes the event was a great success and would recommend that other Aimhigher partnerships consider using a youth club as a portable roadshow venue.
If you would like to find out more about this activity, please email Peter Boursnell or the National Communications Resource Team.
Aimhigher North London
Aimhigher North London organised a successful portable roadshow event that ran between January and June 2006.
The portable roadshow was aimed at Year 9 students, and focused on informing participants about the range of HE courses available, the different routes into HE and the career options available with particular qualifications.
Below is an example of a flexible one-hour session:
- Welcome - including facilitator introductions, 'What is Aimhigher?' presentation, and an overview of what the session will include.
- DVD segment - 'University from the Inside' (taken from the national version).
- General discussion about student life, focusing on the differences between HE and school.
- Aimhigher 'True or False' activity (taken from the national version)
- Discussion of activity
- Prospectus research activity
- Discussion of activity
- DVD segment 'Topshop sequence'
- Questions and Answers - including the provision of handouts
Click on the link below to download an example of the prospectus research activity.
Aimhigher North London found that this session could be repeated up to five times daily, across five lesson slots in the typical school day, with between 12-15 participants in each session.
The organisers have found the portable roadshow option to be easy to organise, with schools not having to dedicate a great deal time to the planning process. The feedback received has been very positive and several schools have already requested return visits. Following the success of the format this year, the partnership will be rolling out the portable roadshow across all five boroughs in north London next year.
For further information about the partnership's portable roadshow experience, contact Andrea Whiteford.
