A YEAR of hard work has paid off for twins Aidan and Ciaran Mackrill (12), who donned their mortar boards and gowns this month to graduate from Children’s University Australasia.
The Wanneroo Primary School siblings joined more than 200 fellow graduates from almost 20 schools from Lancelin to Rockingham who took part in the program run by Edith Cowan University (ECU).
The program recognised and rewarded the extra-curricular learning activities of school children aged between seven and 14, with Aidan and Ciaran each logging more than 100 hours of activities.
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READ NOW“I wanted to do the program because it looked really fun and it would give you learning skills for later on in life,” Ciaran said.
Aidan said Children’s University has made him think about university in a different way.
“It’s not at all like what we thought it was,” he said.
“When we were learning, the teachers did it in a fun way so we took a lot more from this than usual.”
ECU Deputy Vice-Chancellor of strategic partnerships Professor Cobie Rudd said the university had been running the program for three years.
“This is our biggest group of graduates yet and we’ve also had a number of new schools join us this year with more coming on board in 2020,” she said.
“The overall goal of the program is to raise aspirations, boost achievement and instil a love of learning in the students who participate.”
Similar to a traditional graduation, ECU’s Chancellor Kerry Sanderson handed the ‘testamurs’ to 215 graduates over two ceremonies.
Children’s University gives students opportunities to learn anything from robotics to sports science, or from art to biology, and there are no lectures, tests or exams.
“We encourage students to choose activities and subjects they may not have considered before and to be in charge of their own learning,” Professor Rudd said.