The Twenty-Ninth Isle of Man Higher Education Fair will take place on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th June, at Ballakermeen High School.

The school first ran the event in the late 1980s to ensure that the Island’s students were not disadvantaged by a lack of information in making their university choices. Similar events take place throughout the UK from March onwards, enabling young people who are considering the next stage of their education to ask specific questions of university representatives. Each year, the school invites Universities and other institutions of Higher Education to the Island to meet Manx students and their parents and carers. The number of institutions represented has increased substantially over the years. Around 70 organisations will attend this year, including some who are here for the first time. These are The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the University of Bournemouth, and Buckinghamshire New University. We are also pleased to welcome back institutions who have not been able to field a delegate over recent years, including the University of East Anglia, and Goldsmiths, University of London.

Adrienne Burnett, Head Teacher said;

‘Our event has grown in strength enormously over recent years and we are delighted that we can again offer our young people the chance to access key university staff who work at the cutting edge of the application process. This year the fair will again be well attended, partly as a result of contacts we have established with the colleges and universities. The main reason, however, is word of mouth, as delegates pass on the benefits of coming to the Isle of Man to their colleagues. It is not just local hospitality that attracts them; they see the Island’s students as excellent candidates for admission. They are always impressed by how articulate they are, the pertinent nature of their questions and that they have already carried out a substantial amount of research into their options. We are delighted that, in the face of cuts to universities’ budgets, so many delegates have decided to attend our event again this year.

As well as advice from individual institutions, we offer general advice about the application process during the introductory talks.

Other bodies attending include the Student Awards Section from the Department for Education and Children, and Isle of Man Employment Services. Also attending will be Study Options, which is a firm endorsed by the Department of Education for organising gap year experiences in Australia and New Zealand. I would consider the fair to be a “one-stop-shop” to meet all the needs of an aspiring higher education student and one not to be missed.’

The Conference opens on Thursday 18th June at 7.00 pm in the Studio Theatre at Ballakermeen with presentations by Jane Murphy from the University of Huddersfield and Andrea Bourne from the University of York. They will be addressing parents and students about the application process for higher education. They will also be commenting on the different types of institutions and the variety and types of courses on offer.

Following this briefing, from 7.30 pm onwards parents and students will be able to talk individually to the representatives from each university and higher education institution in the school’s sports hall, to get advice and information.

Ian Kay, Head of Sixth Form at Ballakermeen, said:

‘In the face of ever more demanding entry requirements and competition for places on courses, research prior to completing the UCAS application has never been so important. This really is the key to completing a successful application and, in the light of the current economic situation, our young people are becoming increasingly aware of the associated costs of going to university and are eager to make the most informed decisions possible. This is the prime opportunity for parents and students to find out about courses, entry requirements and the style of the different institutions of higher education. As well as having the opportunity to talk to the representatives from over seventy universities, there will also be the chance to find out about courses available in higher education on the Isle of Man. Representatives from the Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education, which offers an ever-increasing number of undergraduate degree programmes, will be available to speak to students at the event.

Additionally, there will also be a stand representing the Isle of Man Government nurse training programme at Keyll Darree, which has been offering a nursing degree programme on Island for a number of years now.’

The Thursday night session is open to students from Year 10 upwards and their parents. During the day on Friday 19th June, all of the post-16 students from the Island’s schools will be attending, as will students from the Isle of Man College. Members of the public interested in applying to university as mature students, or recent ‘A’ Level students who chose not to attend university after their examinations, are all welcome to attend either session. The event will also be extremely useful for Year 11 students. It will enable them to gain some idea of the requirements of the courses for which they will be applying in just over one year’s time. This will be helpful in making their final choice of post-16 course, as many courses have specific ‘A’ level requirements. The Friday sessions take place from 9.15am – 12.00pm and 1.15pm – 2.45pm.