Trinity supports new Great Yarmouth Education Centre

A new education centre in Great Yarmouth supported by Trinity College will enhance educational opportunities for less-advantaged young people.

The initiative is a partnership between Trinity, the University of East Anglia (UEA), and IntoUniversity, the charity working to broaden access to university.

Local primary school students can attend the centre, based in the Market Gates Shopping Centre, where after-school study and mentoring sessions will be provided.

Trinity’s Outreach Programme comprises residential and school visits to the College, mentoring programmes and partnerships with organisations around the country working with young people. A new strand involves working with coastal communities in the East of England.

Trinity’s Admissions Director Professor Glen Rangwala said the partnership with UEA and IntoUniversity in Great Yarmouth was an exciting step for the College, which was committed to helping young people in the region realise their potential.

Senior Tutor at Trinity Catherine Barnard, who is Professor of EU Law and Employment Law at Cambridge, has spent time in East Anglia investigating the experiences of migrants as part of her research. She said:

Trinity is delighted to support the Great Yarmouth Education Centre and help young people access educational opportunities, including higher education.

Research shows the higher education bring many benefits including increased earnings, greater life satisfaction and higher achieving children.

Engaging with young people needs to start from an early age and the work of organisations such as IntoUniversity is important, particularly post pandemic and with the increasing pressures on schools, so that pupils from less-advantaged areas have access to the opportunities they deserve.

IntoUniversity is working with seven local schools in Great Yarmouth, which is one of 39 centres run by the charity in 22 locations across England and Scotland, supporting more than 46,000 young people. Of students attending their centres, 66% go on to university, compared with 26.6% of students from similar backgrounds nationally.

Great Yarmouth Centre Leader Amy Rust said the opportunity to open a centre and work with community groups, schools and young people in the town was ‘incredibly inspiring.’

UEA Vice-Chancellor Professor David Richardson said:

We recognise the civic responsibility that UEA has to our region and it’s very exciting that we’re creating new ties in an area of such great potential as Norfolk’s east coast.

The Great Yarmouth Education Centre will be opened by representatives from UEA, IntoUniversity and Trinity College on 1 March 2023.