Dumfries Campus education event well supported

Jul 1 2009 by Iain Pollock, Dumfries Standard Wednesday

THE DUMFRIES Campus played host to the annual Modern Studies Conference recently.

Organised by local head teacher Barry Graham, and supported by the University of Glasgow, University of West of the Scotland and Dumfries & Galloway College, the event attracted around 250 pupils and their teachers from 16 Scottish secondary schools, including a number from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Borders and Glasgow.

The main event was held in the Dumfries and Galloway College building, giving delegates the opportunity to visit the new college and tour the facilities, including the new FE/HE library, which is used by all college and university students on the campus.

Mr Graham was pleased with the number of schools participating at the 2009 event and with the support received from the campus partners.

He said: “The purpose of this event is to increase pupils’ knowledge of modern studies issues in preparation for the Higher modern studies exam in May.

“The turnout at this event confirms that schools value this conference and consider it to be a useful revision aid for their pupils.

“To be able to host it at the Dumfries Campus is an additional benefit and I like to think that it also helps raise awareness of the campus and the study opportunities available in Dumfries.”

He added: “The conference helps to bridge the gap between school and further and higher education and also allows pupils to see the fantastic facilities that are available at the Dumfries campus.”

Throughout the event, seminars were held by MP Russell Brown to discuss the power of both MPs and the Prime Minister which generated some interesting debates.

Dr Sandy Whitelaw, University of Glasgow lecturer at the Dumfries campus, also addressed the pupils with a seminar entitled ‘health and wealth inequalities in the UK’.

John McTaggart, who sets the modern studies exam also involved the pupils in a discussion about ethnic minorities in the USA and addressed some of the issues raised from an examiner’s perspective.

A number of teachers who attended spoke very highly of it.

Anne Barclay, of Annan Academy, said: “All the students left the conference with greater confidence as a result of this relaxed, but efficiently run, conference.

“It has reinforced students’ knowledge and gave them all something to think about. It was a highly successful and very useful day.”

Each year the themes and speakers change and develop, and as the range of courses and access to academic staff at the Dumfries campus increases, there is scope to further enhance the conference.

The University of Glasgow continues to offer health and social studies as part of their unique, interdisciplinary degree framework which also includes history, literature, philosophy and primary teaching.

Dumfries and Galloway College offers a number of related options. Later this year, the University of the West of Scotland will launch their social work degree in Dumfries for the first time and it is hoped that this will add a new dimension to the 2010 Modern Studies Conference.