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Future Art Teachers Unearth Historic Gems
PGCE Secondary Art and Design trainees from Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) spent a day in Yorkshire visiting The National Arts Education Archive, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield. There were many highlights for the students to enjoy but perhaps the most revealing came during an exploration of the archives with the arts educator Tony Chisholm. Tony introduced the group to examples of pupils’ art works dating from the 1940s to recent times and unpacked exciting and thought provoking examples of artworks created by secondary school children in particular. The quality and scope of the art was certainly an eye opener for the PGCE students and provided plenty of food for thought for their future careers. The remaining part of the day included an exploration of the current exhibitions at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth including Giuseppe Penone and Lee Miller. Field trips to these sites are an annual event on the programme which have also included trips to Tate Modern and the Courtauld Institute of Art in previous years. BGU have been training high quality teachers for over 150 years so when it comes to education there is nowhere better to study. You can find more information on the wide range of innovative PGCE courses offered by BGU on our website. Or contact our Enquiries Team to find out how to begin your journey into teaching. -
BGU Officially Welcome New Students at Annual Matriculation Ceremony
Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) formally welcomed nearly 600 students at the annual Matriculation Ceremony on Tuesday 9 October. Now in its fourth year the welcoming ceremony has become an established and popular part of the academic calendar. All newly enrolled students are invited to the ceremony, held in the grand surroundings of Lincoln Cathedral, which gives both undergraduate and postgraduate students the chance to meet University staff and each other. This year’s ceremony began at 3pm with a procession of over 100 BGU members of staff before the new students were officially welcomed to the University by the University’s Chancellor, Dame Judith Jonas-Mayhew, the Vice-Chancellor, the Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, the President of the Students’ Union, Craig Ferguson and the The Dean of Lincoln, The Very Revd Christine Wilson. As a symbol of their belonging in BGU, all students were given a specially designed gold badge. The Vice-Chancellor explained why the event has become such an important part of the student journey at BGU: “The Matriculation Ceremony marks our students’ formal entry into the University. In addition to offering a friendly welcome to all those who are starting their studies here this year, it ensures they know they are now part of the BGU and academic community, of which every student is an integral member. It is emphasised that we are all there to guide and support the students throughout their time with us.” The ceremony closed with a performance from the BGU choir followed by speeches from Samuel Wernham, second year Drama student, and Emma Stanbridge, BGU graduate and MA English Literature student. New undergraduate students Amelia Revill, Education Studies and English, Charlotte Jezard, Education Studies, and Francesca Baugh, Primary Education with QTS, described after the ceremony how, thanks to the event, BGU was already feeling like home: “This afternoon has been really welcoming and enjoyable. It’s really nice to see all the students and academics coming together to meet each other, we’ve enjoyed our time at BGU so far but this has definitely made us all feel even more at home here” If you would like to become a part of the BGU community visit our website to find out about all the exciting courses available to you or contact our Enquiries Team today. You can watch this year’s ceremony and find a photo album on our Facebook page. -
Working Together to Find the Missing MFL Links
By James Foster I am currently doing a PGCE in Secondary Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) at BGU and as part of my British Council ITT Scholarship I was invited to the House of Commons to attend an All Party Parliamentary Meeting on MFL. The meeting was chaired by Tonia Antoniazzi MP and involved speakers from Cardiff University and leaders of Welsh university/school collaborative initiatives, the practitioners delivering them and students benefiting from them. Present also were representatives from Routes into Languages Cymru, the MFL Student Mentoring Project and a variety of UK universities. Part of the meeting’s aim was to talk about the MFL Student Mentoring Project in Wales which is a 5-year long project with the aim of increasing GCSE uptake in MFL. One shocking statistic presented at the meeting was that last year only 64 pupils in the whole of Wales took German A-level, reflecting the current state of MFL in the rest of the United Kingdom. Another interesting topic later in the meeting came from a representative from Anglia Ruskin University who is currently promoting the theme of linguistics as a GCSE topic, something which I personally would be very interested in seeing. Could this be one of the missing links in the struggle to promote MFL as a subject? In my opinion MFL has many cross-curricular links and linguistics would provide a link with the sciences, however for me the decline in foreign exchange visits poses a bigger threat. Exchange visits offer pupils the opportunity to apply what they are learning and see the relevance but in the past few years these have declined The meeting finished with open questioning by anyone present at the meeting and after being adjourned was followed by a networking session in the Committee Room. Thank you to the British Council for inviting me to go as part of their ITT scholarship and to BGU for letting me have the day off placement to go! If you are interested in a career that offers you the opportunity to shape future generations then our wide range of PGCE courses are for you. With over 150 years’ experience in training and crafting expert educators there is nowhere better than BGU. For more information visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team. Are you a current or former BGU student? Have you done something you think should be shouted about? Then contact our PR Team to share your achievements. -
Forging the Future of Religious Education
Over the weekend of 13-14 October Mark Plater, subject leader for PGCE Secondary Religious Education at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU), joined more than 150 Religious Education professionals from across the UK for a National Religious Education conference. The event was the first such national gathering of RE professionals since the recent publication of the RE Council's Commission on RE report, Religion and Worldviews: the way forward. The report proposed radical changes to the legal provisions for RE along with a new vision for how the subject should be taught. With a diverse collection of attendees representing all of the major national school Religious Education organisations and bodies – including teachers, lecturers and inspectors – the conference provided an opportunity to consider the future of the subject along with the proposals being put forward by the Commission. As a platform for the celebration of the best elements of RE in the country the event was an inspiration for Mark: "Not only was it encouraging to see key RE people and organisations coming together in this way, but everything about the conference was excellent: the speakers, the workshops, the venue and the wonderful group of people present. I have great hope for the future of our subject if it is being led by such people." If you’re interested in a future exploring and discussing religion then our Theology courses and RE teaching pathways could be for you. Visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team today for more information. -
BGU Men’s Football Club win the Cathedral Cup
Bishop Grosseteste University Men’s Football Club (BGUMFC) beat the University of Lincoln in a penalty shootout to reclaim the Cathedral Cup at Sincil Bank last week. -
BGU Ambassadors Discuss International Business during Embassy Visit
Staff and students from the Business (Team Entrepreneurship) course at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) were invited to visit the Finnish and Hungarian Embassies in London to discuss opportunities to promote international business initiatives. Chris Jackson, Senior Lecturer and Team Coach on the TE programme, received an invitation from the Finnish Embassy via the regional Honorary Finnish Consul, Camilla Carlbom-Flinn, who is keen to promote the ongoing relationships that BGU’s Business and Enterprise team have built with Finnish organisations. Chris was joined on the visit by his academic colleague Pete Tasi along with students Daria Pipczyenka and Chris Sandham. The main topic of discussion was promoting the forthcoming Team 4 Learning (T4L) event that will be hosted at BGU next February. T4L is an international event that brings together students, team coaches and alumni connected with the Team Academy (Tiimiakatemia) programme (which forms the basis of BGU’s TE course). For next year’s event the team at BGU are planning to broaden the scope to include organisations who are now using Team Academy methods in their everyday business practice. The BGU visitors were received at the Embassy by Special Advisor Minttu Taajamo, who also invited colleagues from the Anglo-Finnish Chamber of Commerce and Business Finland. For Chris the trip offered an exciting opportunity to see representatives from BGU involved at the heart of international cooperation: “Daria and Chris did a first class job as ambassadors for BGU, and represented us well at the Embassy. This was an incredible learning opportunity for them. The Embassy were very supportive and we now need to continue discussions with them to see exactly what this support could look like in practice and how we might be able to collaborate further.” While in London, BGU’s ambassadors were also able to visit the Hungarian Embassy where they met with the Science and Technology attache, who was a colleague of Pete Tasi at the Budapest Business School. A Hungarian national, Pete has joined BGU for a year, to work on both the BA (Hons) Team Entrepreneurship and BA (Hons) Business courses. Pete discussed the positive impact this meeting could have on both the students involved and the wider BGU community: “We encourage our students to get out and meet prospects and build active networks, so it seemed crazy not to make the most of this opportunity and show them the potential of real networking. "We explained about the nature and scope of our work at BGU and it looks as if there are opportunities for us to collaborate further, which is pretty exciting. We already have an invitation to return and meet with some Hungarian start-ups based in the UK at an event organised by the Embassy.” If you’re interested in a future in international business or in starting your own company, our business courses are the perfect path to take. You can find more information on them on our website or by contacting our Enquiries Team. Better yet, why not attend one of our Open Days and experience BGU first hand? -
BGU Students Explore What it Means to Remember
Second Year Students on the History and Theology courses at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) visited the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) as a part of their modules which explore the historical and theological dimensions of war and commemoration. Both modules ask students to reflect on key questions of who remembers, when, where and how, making the NMA, with its 150 acres and over 300 living and man-made memorials, an ideal location to visit. Whilst the students were able to experience a wide variety of different memorials including the Armed Forces Memorial where all those who have lost their lives in service post-1945 are named. Rebecca Newton, a single honours History student, described how seeing this memorial in particular, in the light of the centenary of Armistice, proved a thought provoking and emotional experience for many of the students: “The visit to the National Memorial Arboretum was one of the most emotional and thought provoking trips I have been on with BGU. “It highlighted the significance of the service and sacrifice of all who have lost their lives to war and, on the run up to Armistice this year, this is something I feel should be remembered. “One of the most emotional parts of this visit was the Armed Forces Memorial, more specifically the blank walls ready for more names to be engraved of those who have died in recent conflicts and conflicts yet to come, emphasizing that the cost of freedom is high and despite the immense amount of life already lost, we are still paying the price.” Forming part of the History and Theology courses, both modules encourage students to consider the dynamics of history, religion and politics, and the interplay of these with memory. Through research-led teaching, students explore individual and state responses to remembering during both world wars, associated invented traditions such as the poppy and fields of remembrance, public rituals and the role of symbolism in the creation of national culture and religious identity. The module in particular aims to bust some of the many myths around the First World War that are at present reinforced by popular culture. If you would be interested in joining these discussions visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team for more information on our wide range of courses including BA degrees in History and Theology, our MA in Social & Cultural History and our new BA (Hons) in Military History. -
BGU Armistice Symposium to Bring National Memorial to Lincoln
Silhouettes of fallen soldiers forming part of the national ‘There But Not There’ project are coming to Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) as part of a special Armistice Symposium on 21 November. The Symposium, organised by the History team and postgraduate students at BGU, will showcase their original research on the human experience of war to mark the centenary of the Armistice. Topics including soldier sanitation and wellbeing will be presented on, alongside soldier suicide, flight experience at Cranwell, conscientious objection, and Lincolnshire home front poetry. In addition the event will feature ten transparent seated military figures. These silhouettes form part of the national ‘There But Not There’ project which aims to place a representative figure for every name on local war memorials around the UK, providing a powerful act of remembrance. This event is free and all are welcome to attend, but registration is required no later than 4pm on Friday 16 November 2018. For all other queries, please contact the convenor Dr. Claire M. Hubbard-Hall by emailing: claire.hubbard-hall@bishopg.ac.uk The event is generously supported by BGU School of Humanities, the City of Lincoln Historical Association branch, and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. If you’re interested in studying the past you can find more information on our range of History degree courses, including our new BA Military History degree, on our website or by contacting our Enquiries Team. -
Students Experience the Positive Power of Singing
Second Year Psychology students at Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) worked with Liz McIntosh from 'Sing it Loud' (www.singitloud.org) to experience the positive power of community singing. The practical workshop formed part of the ‘Psychology in the Arts and Communities’ module from the single honours Psychology degree course and applied the theoretical elements of the course into first-hand experience. The students were able to explore participant feedback and the experiences of groups Liz works with around Lincolnshire, discussing topics such as relieving rural isolation, loneliness, supporting carers, providing people with a routine and enabling people to withdraw from day to day worries and immerse themselves in a positive activity with others. Thomasin Nicholds, one of the Psychology lecturers at BGU, described the positive impact that these practical sessions could have on the students’ learning: “The session gave students the chance to work together in a small group on something new and outside of their usual learning experience giving them a chance to understand more about themselves and each other. "The experience was then related back to theory and research related to individual and community wellbeing, with students testing their understanding of engagement, inclusion and benefits of participation.” In the build up to the session the students also listened to a local radio interview where Liz was representing a community singing group that is made up of people with dementia and their carers, enabling them to come together and share in music, which can be a trigger for positive memories and give people something to share when their lives are radically changing due to the onset of dementia. For more information on our Psychology courses and how you can join in with the innovative research taking place at BGU visit our website, contact our Enquiries Team or attend one of our Open Days to experience the University first hand. -
Local school children help BGU students to widen their professional skills
On Monday 5th and Monday 12th November Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) invited 80 children from local schools to take part in educational research with second year students on the BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS course. The sessions were designed to provide the students, who are studying to become primary teachers, with an opportunity to experience the skills required to become educational researchers. Working in groups, under the supervision of a tutor, the students designed and conducted research on topics focused on the school pupils including: Reading choices Philosophy for children Using apps to support enquiry Mathematics through story Mapping stories Reading for pleasure and digital reading Dr Ashley Compton, Senior Lecturer in the School of Teacher Development at BGU, explained the benefits students could expect from gaining skills in educational research: “In order to understand and evaluate the latest innovations in education it is important that teachers are able to engage with research. In their second year we get the students to work together in groups, under the supervision of a tutor, to design and conduct research with children. "This experience allows students to develop a better understanding of how research does (and doesn't!) work and prepares them for their individual research projects in their final year. "The children, covering Year 1 through Year 6, were fantastic, participating fully in each of the research topics and giving our students valuable insights into the research process.” The Primary Education courses at BGU regularly interacts with schools around the local community to provide our students with a varied and engaging educational experience. If you want to pursue a future in teaching visit our website or contact our Enquiries Team for more information on how to begin your career on our exciting Primary Education with QTS degree course.
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