The scheme, titled Children’s University, currently operates across the West Lancashire region and will now be brought to other areas of the county.
Set up to encourage children to participate in a number of out-of-school activities, the UK-wide project lets primary school kids aged six and above graduate – donning full cap and gown attire – at actual universities.
Currently in its early stages in the Lancashire area, the project’s bosses say that its potential is “huge”.
According to the Lancashire Evening Post, a manager of the project, Laura Grigsby-Blackburn, said:
“Anything where they are learning something voluntarily, they are given points towards their Children’s University – one hour of learning is one credit towards it. The whole idea is that all the activities should be something they could progress in up to degree level if they want to.
“It is about raising aspirations and trying to expand young people’s opportunities.”
Speaking further, she explained that the project aims to encourage children to develop a passion for learning.
When new extra-curricular activities are available to children, schools often use services such as flyer printing, in Preston and elsewhere across Lancashire, to show parents everything that their children can get involved in.
Grigsby-Blackburn said that Children’s University likewise aims to show youngsters that learning doesn’t all take place in the classroom, and that activities such as visiting a museum or library, or learning a new sport, all count.