Head's Newsletter 11 February 2022

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM TRIP

We started bright and early, eager for the first long coach ride of sixth form. Once we arrived, we saw the huge variety in architecture on campus, as an art student it was fascinating. We were ushered into a lecture theatre, where we were given a talk on university life as a whole, widening our knowledge on what we can expect from university. We then had an intriguing talk from Dr Jagbir Jhutti - Johal on The Sikh Experience, race, hate crime and mistaken identity. This talk truly delved deep into the struggles faced by the Sikh community post 9/11, focusing on experiences faced by the Sikh diaspora. It allowed us to have a taste of what a lecture would be like at university. We got to ask questions, sparking a debate across the whole lecture theatre.

It was fascinating to hear how my peers from different backgrounds had viewed their own racial identity growing up. After this, we got to go on a tour with a current first year student, allowing us to explore the campus of this Russell Group university in a casual way. As most open events are virtual in this day and age, this was a very valuable experience.

We got to find out about student life at Birmingham, specifically on how to have a work life balance. Upon returning to the lecture theatre, we got to interview a variety of students at Birmingham, who were at different stages in their academic lives, which truly helped us gauge what we have to look forward to at university. Overall, this trip was extremely valuable, clearing up the mystery that surrounds life at Russell Group unis and also allowing us to have a fascinating conversation on race.

Avan Majumdar (Year 12)