Information on Loughborough

11 Million Day

Posted on 28/11/2007
P. Klein

Council Chamber at Loughborough University during 11 Million Day

Loughboroughs students should recycle more, and on-campus transport needs to be improved, according to local school pupils who visited the University as part of the national 11 Million Take Over Day initiative.

Held on 23 November, 11 Million Take Over Day was an opportunity for Englands children and young people to take over the running of some of the countrys key organisations and services. It was also a chance for the country to demonstrate its commitment to listening to and recognising the contributions of children and young people.

Having spent the morning assessing various aspects of the University, the students met up with the Vice Chancellor to feedback their conclusions.

One group, from Burleigh Community College, had looked around three halls of residence. They considered two to be energy inefficient, and suggested a recycling rota or inter-hall competition could help provide the incentive for the students to recycle more.

A group of sixth formers from Harry Carlton School, East Leake, spent the morning in the Universitys Library. They found the study areas to be well-used spaces, with lots of information provided and user-friendly opening hours. However they thought the library itself was in need of a make-over, with better lightning and more attractive decoration on their list of suggested improvements.

A second group of Burleigh Community College students assessed the campus environment. They were impressed by the two buildings they visited " the Centre for Collaborative Construction Research and the ECB National Cricket Centre " and felt the University campus was generally good, although it should have more green space. They also recognised that on-campus transport was an issue, with too many cars around, and suggested that a better bus service could help to address the problem.

The final group of students " from Burleigh Community College and Woodbrook Vale High School " spent the morning with staff from the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) and the Centre for Child and Family Research (CCFR). Having been asked to identify issues of importance to young people, for potential research projects, the group put forward diversity, global warming and opportunities for the young.

Having heard the students comments, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Shirley Pearce, said: "The students were able to very quickly home in on the challenges facing the University and came up with some incredibly helpful and interesting suggestions. They provided us with an enormous amount of feedback which we will consider carefully, and will show to Council, the Universitys decision making body, at its meeting this week.