A Time to Celebrate

A huge congratulations to all of our Graduates from 2020 & 2021 who were finally able to enjoy in-person graduation ceremonies!  On December 8, our Winter Graduation enjoyed a welcome return to in-person graduations and, on December  13, our graduates from Summer 2020 and  2021 and Winter 2020 finally had the opportunity to don their graduation robes, enjoy their spotlight on stage and celebrate their achievement with family, friends and academic staff at the graduation garden party.

To see more of our graduation pics, visit facebook.com/stranbelfast/

 

Northern Ireland does the Daily Mile Santa Run!

With a big Santa “Ho Ho Go!” an amazing 595 schools and Early Years settings took part in The Daily Mile Santa Run on Friday 3 December, across Northern Ireland.

The event was organised by the Daily Mile Network NI to encourage children and all people to participate in the Daily Mile. The day aimed to raise awarenes of the positive impact being active can have on children’s mental health and wellbeing.

The Daily Mile™ initiative was started nine years ago by headteacher Elaine Wyllie in Sterling, and has since enjoyed momentous success with three million children worldwide now running a mile a day across 13,500 schools in 88 countries.

Dr Brenda Mc Kay-Redmond, co-Chair of The Daily Mile Network NI and Stranmillis University College lecturer, would like to thank all the children, staff, school and early years settings that took part and succeeded in making this an overwhelming success. “This has been phenomenal! Witnessing children in their Christmas attire carrying out fifteen minutes of exercise, jogging or walking, outside safely can contribute to them becoming happier, fitter and stronger. Self-esteem, wellbeing and satisfaction can also improve mental health, so let’s keep our hearts and minds healthy by having fun, friendships, fitness and freedom in the fresh air.”

Clare Drummy, Physical Activity Coordinator and Daily Mile Network NI member, says: “We are thrilled with the number of schools and early years settings who have participated in the Santa Run event. There is real appetite out there for The Daily Mile initiative across all settings. It’s free and evidence shows the huge benefits it has on children’s physical health, but also on concentration, focus, mood and behaviour. Our regional aim is to get all children everywhere participating in the inclusiveness of The Daily Mile™ in Northern Ireland.”

Colette Brolly, the Public Health Agency’s lead on physical activity said: “We were delighted to support the Daily Mile Santa Run. This was a fantastic achievement to get so many children moving on the same day, having fun and celebrating the positive benefits that daily activity can have on their physical health and emotional wellbeing.”

Wishing all a Happy and Healthy Christmas!

We would like to encourage all schools and early years settings in Northern Ireland to sign up to The Daily Mile™. To register for The Daily Mile™ please visit:  https://thedailymile.co.uk/

Taoiseach announces research funding for Stranmillis-led ‘BUDDIES project’

An all-Ireland team led by Stranmillis University College’s Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) have been successful in being awarded a significant funding award for research through the Irish government’s Shared Island initiative and SCoTENS. The development was announced today in a keynote address to the Shared Island Forum by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

The BUDDIES Project will examine the role and potential of the Home-School Community Liaison (HSCL) coordinator in terms of addressing educational disadvantage across the island of Ireland.

The research will be a collaborative project with University College Dublin (UCD) and Marino Institute of Education (MIE).

Led by Dr Glenda Walsh, Assistant Director of CREU and Head of Early Years Education, the Stranmillis research team includes Dr Jill Dunn, Dr Ken Gibson and Dr Karen Orr, working in conjunction with southern partners Dr Seaneen Sloan at UCD, and Dr Cliodhna Martin at MIE.

Professor Colleen McLaughlin, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Cambridge, will play a role as an expert advisor.

The HSCL works at the intersection between home and school, supporting children and families in the process, particularly in areas of high deprivation and those at risk of educational underachievement. It is all about enhancing partnerships with families so that they value and support their children’s education more fully.

The research aims to provide a fuller understanding of the role of HSCL coordinators across the full educational spectrum and to guide policy-makers and practitioners in their knowledge and appreciation of the value of HSCL coordinators, particularly for those facing disadvantage.

Welcoming the news, Dr Glenda Walsh said “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with University College Dublin and Marino Institute of Education on such a timely and significant project.  Positive home-school partnerships are hugely beneficial in terms of tackling educational underachievement so learning more about best practice in this field will no doubt prove beneficial across the educational spectrum.”

Director of CREU, Dr Noel Purdy, said “There is so much to be learnt from the sharing of experiences and expertise with our closest neighbours and so we are very grateful to SCoTENS and the Shared Island initiative for funding this north-south research.  I know that the findings will be keenly anticipated by school leaders, researchers and policy makers on both sides of the border.”

The Daily Mile Santa Run

In light of the events in the past year, children’s mental health, and its relationship to physical activity, is more important than ever.  The Daily Mile™ is a UK-wide initiative which gets children out of the classroom for 15 minutes every day, to run or jog at their own pace. Whilst making them fitter, healthier and able to concentrate in the classroom, it has huge social and emotional benefits too.

On Friday 3 December,  595 local primary schools and early years setting took time out of the classroom to take part in the Daily Mile NI Santa Run. The Minister for Education, Michelle McIlveen, Stranmillis University College Principal and CEO Professor Jonathan Heggarty and Daily Mile Network NI co-chairs Dr Barbara McConnell and Dr Brenda McKay-Redmond joined staff and pupils at Comber Primary School for #TheDailyMile Santa Run!

Co-Chair, Dr Barbara McConnell, commenting on the success of the day, said: “We wanted as many schools and early years settings as possible around Northern Ireland to get moving on the same day and celebrate the positive benefits that daily activity can have on our mental health. Having almost 600 schools and early years settings register to take part in this event is hugely encouraging and a great endorsement of the principles behind The Daily Mile.”

Books Alive

Books literally came alive at Stranmillis College today. The College hosted a wonderful shared experience with our student teachers supporting literacy in our community and was delighted  to welcome Abbots Cross Primary School onto the campus. The Books Alive Reading Hubs initiative is part of the College’ widening participation programme to support and raise aspirations for Access to Higher Education for all.
The word of the day was ‘learning’ together. The programme is a good example of  intergenerational learning –  college staff, young pupils, teachers, classroom assistants and student teachers worki8ng and learning together and from each other.

UCAS Confirmation and Clearing 2021 FAQs

Q: My decision is still ‘Pending’ on UCAS?

A: If your decision is still ‘Pending’ on UCAS, it is because either, we have not received all of your results from UCAS or because you did not meet the conditions of your offer.

If you have received all of your results and believe you have met the conditions of your offer, please email a scanned copy of your certificate(s) to registry@stran.ac.uk

While you wait for a decision to be made on your Firm Choice, you may wish to be considered for one of the Foundation Degree programmes offered by Stranmillis University College and delivered at our partner FE Colleges, please click here to register your interest. (Please note, there is only a small number of spaces available on these courses.)

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/CourseEnquiryForm2021/

You may also wish to consider other options in Northern Ireland while we make our decision on your application. Please visit the below links for further information:

https://www.qub.ac.uk/Study/Undergraduate/routes-to-university/

https://www.stran.ac.uk/routes-to-university/

Q: I am interested in one of your courses in Clearing, how do I apply?

A: If you would like to be considered for one of the Foundation Degree programmes offered by Stranmillis University College and delivered at our partner FE Colleges, please click here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/CourseEnquiryForm2021/

A member of the Admissions team will assess your application against the availability of places and will be in touch with you over the coming days.

Q: I am on the Reserve List; how will I know if I get a place?

A: We are currently waiting on applicants who have been given an offer to accept or decline their place. If a space does become available on the course, then a member of the Admissions team will be in touch with you.

Q: I wish to withdraw my application; how do I do that?

A: You can use the Self-Release function on your UCAS Track. Alternatively, you can send an email to registry@stran.ac.uk and ask to have your application withdrawn. Please include your name, UCAS ID and course in the email and include if you wish to be released into Clearing or if you wish to withdraw from UCAS.

Q: I am appealing my grade, what do I need to do?

A: If you are appealing a grade, you must notify us of the result of the appeal before Wednesday 8th September. We will honour a remark until the 8th of September if you meet the original conditions of your offer. Beyond this date we are not obliged to consider remarks, but we will of course try to be as accommodating as possible if places are available. You should be aware that grades may go down as well as up following an appeal.

Q: I wish to defer my offer until next year, can I do that?

A: We do not accept deferred entry onto any of our courses. If you are wish to commence your studies in September 2022 then you will need to withdraw your application and reapply through UCAS next year.

 

If you have any questions about anything not covered above, please call Academic Registry on 028 9038 4263. This line will be open during the  following times :

Tuesday 10th August 09.30 am – 4.00 pm
Wednesday 11th – Tuesday 17th August 10.00 am – 3.00 pm