The city’s new university, which is a partnership between the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Peterborough City Council and Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), will open its doors to the first students in September next year.
The Open Day will be based at ARU’s current facility at Guild House, on Oundle Road in Peterborough, and will include trips to the new campus, which is under construction, with visitors being given a tour of the site, including a first glimpse inside the new building.
Prospective students will also be able to learn more about the range of new courses being offered by ARU Peterborough, which are being carefully designed to meet the needs of both students and local employers.
The courses will be delivered through a combination of campus lessons, in-work training and apprenticeships, with distance learning and outreach programmes helping to improve accessibility and widen participation.
Peterborough and the surrounding areas are higher education “cold spots”, with significantly fewer people having degree level qualifications compared to the national average. And out of 324 local authority districts, Peterborough ranks 191st for social mobility, with Fenland in 319th place.
Professor Ross Renton, the Principal of ARU Peterborough, believes transport is one of the key factors that can limit the opportunities for young people, and he is delighted that Stagecoach East is offering free travel on its Cambridgeshire network to help as many people as possible attend the Open Day.
Anyone booked on to the ARU Peterborough Open Day will qualify for free unlimited travel on the Stagecoach East network on 9 October for both themselves and a parent or guardian.
Professor Renton said: “It is really positive that the UK is currently seeing a growth in the number of university students from the most disadvantaged areas. However, for many of these students, they face additional challenges around the cost of travelling to campus. This is something we would like to see the Government look at as part of the Levelling Up agenda.
“We are also acutely aware that these travel costs can be prohibitive for people wishing to attend university Open Days. It is so important that young people have the chance to properly explore the options available to them and we are delighted that Stagecoach East is supporting ARU Peterborough’s first in-person Open Day by providing free travel on 9 October.”
Darren Roe, Managing Director of Stagecoach East, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with ARU Peterborough to offer free bus travel to prospective students, and their parent or guardian, attending the university Open Day on 9 October. Attendees can redeem the free travel on any of our services in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough using the e-voucher emailed to them from the university.
"Taking the next step to higher education represents an important milestone for many young people, and it's vital that they are provided with the opportunity, means and resources to attend Open Days like these so they can fully explore their options. At Stagecoach East, we are dedicated to providing sustainable, affordable and reliable bus travel to students, residents, commuters and visitors in our local areas. We hope that the free bus travel we have provided for the Open Day, helps to boost attendance by making the event more accessible for visitors and their families.”
For further information about ARU Peterborough, the courses on offer, and to book on to the 9 October Open Day, visit https://aru.ac.uk/peterborough For information on bus travel in Peterborough with Stagecoach East, visit https://www.stagecoachbus.com/plan-a-journey