A rustling in the wind
Despite a late flourish, summer is now becoming a distant memory and it’s time for us here at Grit to pack up the beach towels, put away the BBQs, and get back on the road. It's quite an autumn that lies ahead!
We’re back in at the University of Hull working with Foundation Year students, midwifery students and Black Leaders. At the NTU Business School we’re starting a new piece of work with students facing particular challenges with engagement, at Bath Spa University we’ll be delivering another iteration of our programme for students of African, Arab, Asian and Caribbean heritage, while at the University of Nottingham we’ll be working with a new cohort of Black Leaders.
We’re now in the second year of the EDEPI project – a project tackling systemic inequality experienced by postgraduate students – where we’ll be working with postgrads at NTU, Liverpool John Moores and Sheffield Hallam Universities.
And we’re thrilled to be starting work in universities new to Grit! We’ve already started work with first year students at Wrexham University and, come October, we’ll be delivering a major project at Lampeter campus of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Meanwhile, at the University of Exeter we’ll be working with medical students.
We’ll be running workshops with staff teams in Islington and Haringey Councils as well as programmes with old friends of Grit at Ark Elvin Academy and the Harrow Club (with their partner schools All Saints Kensington and the Kensington Aldridge Academy).
And all this before October is out!
So, if you hear a rustling in the wind, there’s a good chance it’ll be us …
A new level of courage
"Stepping out of your comfort zone takes a lot of courage, and you have all done this on behalf of the school. Nothing like this has ever been done at the school before. That takes a new level of courage. This will go beyond Y11, Y12 and Y13 and into your whole journey through young adulthood."
Moving words from Mark Goodwin, Director of Behaviour & Wellbeing at the Mercian Trust, at the close of a 3-day intensive workshop at the Q3 Academy Tipton in the West Midlands.
Mark first encountered Grit as a classroom teacher and has championed the Grit approach throughout his career. A truly inspiring way to kick off the new term, and thank you Mark for your ongoing support and commitment.
In conference
RAISE is a worldwide network of staff and students in Higher Education who work on student engagement.
At the beginning of the month Grit, alongside Alex Ferguson of the PLUS Team at Leeds University, led a session at the RAISE 2023 conference on how we have been fostering student belonging and community. It was a great conference: we really enjoyed bumping into old friends, and making new ones.
And also in September Grit was invited to contribute to a round-table hosted by the government appointed Higher Education Student Support Champion. The role was created to help universities support students to access appropriate support as and when they need it. It was a fascinating discussion and a privilege to take part.
We know more than we can tell
“It’s about how they shape a learning journey that takes them head up, eyes forward, in a direction where they want to go – rather than operating with an inherited or assumed direction”
The Higher Education Policy Institute have published We know more than we can tell:
Beyond Employability Part 2, a blog Grit co-authored with Dr Doug Cole of Nottingham Trent University. Read it here.
Remembering Chia
Our Director of Curriculum, Mark Charley, remembers the life of Chia Vasquez.
It is with a heavy heart that we appreciate the life of Chia Vasquez, who passed away in June. Chia was a pioneer of what became the Grit methodology, taking part in the first ever ‘Youth at Risk’ 10-Day residential intensive course in California in 1982.
Chia, sometimes referred to as the ‘Mother of the Course Room,’ dedicated more than 40 years of her life to making a difference in peoples’ lives across the United States and Internationally. A radiant beacon of inspiration, Chia forged a trail of limitless contributions and leaves a legacy of transformed lives, and, in many cases, changed families, with brighter and better futures. Chia’s indelible impact and unwavering support will echo powerfully in the hearts of all those she touched, but the void left by her absence will be acutely and eternally felt.
Chia will be remembered as a relentless advocate who epitomized the skill of envisioning boundless possibilities.