Recently, students from Ashton Sixth Form College visited Leeds Art University as part of the Realising Aspirations programme. 

The aim of the Realising Aspirations programme is to prepare students for life after college. The programme encourages students to look further afield at careers that they may never have heard of. Students sign up to a particular subject strand and through a series of seminars and lectures; they experience university-level teaching. Each student on the programme also travels across the country to visit a university that either specialises or ranks highly for the chosen subject.

The photography strand of the Realising Aspirations programme took students to Leeds Art University, formerly Leeds College of Art. On a short train journey, the group of photography students travelled approximately 45 miles northeast, to one of the UK’s major cities.

While at Leeds Art University, students experienced a master class in film photography, learning the basic workings of the camera, how to load film and best practice when taking images.

Students were then able to take advantage of Leeds’ great architecture, taking photos in the surrounding area of the university. After taking the photos, students developed their own photos: chose their favourite image from their roll of film and then carried out the dark room development process. Opportunities such as this provide students with even more skills to their growing portfolio.

A tour of the university highlighted the facilities and environment students could be a part of should they choose to study at an art speciality institution. They also had countless opportunities to ask student ambassadors first-hand about their experience and plans for the future.

The Guardian’s UK University guide 2018 ranked the institution as 5^th in the country for Design & Crafts and 30^th in the country for Art overall. https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2017/may/16/university-league-tables-2018 Founded 170 years ago, Leeds Art University boasts alumni such as Omar Kashoura (Senior Designer at Vivienne Westwood), Leigh Francis (commonly known for his character Keith Lemon), Alison Britton OBE (Ceramic Artist), and Damien Hirst (Artist).

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Find out more about the Realising Aspirations programme at Ashton Sixth Form College here.