For more than five months 24 students from St Francis de Sales on Church Road, and St Paul's and All Hallows' school on Park Lane, have been participating in a regeneration-led programme designed to motivate high-achieving students to pursue a university education.

The ‘Tottenham University’ scheme has seen students from both schools complete activities including visiting five museums, reading five books from their local library, interviewing children’s author Michael Rosen, watching a West End play and being shown around both Parliament and Oxford University.

Nine year old Benjamin from St Paul’s and All Hallows’ explained why the programme is important:

“We started Tottenham University because there isn’t a university in Tottenham and we are the next generation. This project really pushed me to extend my learning and gave me deep thoughts about what I can do in the future.”

Olivia, aged nine, from St Francis de Sales said:

“My experience in taking part in Tottenham University has been very encouraging and a great pleasure. My favourite trip was to the theatre and watching The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I really enjoyed it because it was so interesting. This theatre lifted up my life to believe in myself. I also enjoyed visiting the House of Commons because I got to explore the olden days.”

At the graduation ceremony the students each gave a one minute presentation on their experiences over the last five months and were presented with a graduation certificate from the Mayor of Haringey, Cllr Jennifer Mann.

Speaking about the project, Sharon Easton, headteacher at St Paul's and All Hallows Infant and Junior Schools said:

“This year we have brought together a group of very able children and set them a project to try and stretch their imagination and to challenge their learning outside of school. Parents have been very supportive in taking their children to museums, galleries and sporting activities. Then the schools set written tasks to do at home and organised several trips, including a trip to Oxford University and to a London Theatre. It has been an excellent project and we hope it will grow with the other schools next year.”

The ‘Tottenham University’ is a pilot project in its first year this year. It is hoped that next year the scheme will be rolled out further to incorporate more schools in the local area.

Dr James Lane headteacher at St Francis de Sales School said:

“I am extremely proud of the achievements of all the children and want to build on the success of this first year. I would like to thank Haringey Council for their support and Michael Rosen for opening doors at Oxford University.”

Cllr Ann Waters, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Families said:

“This scheme is a fantastic example of what’s possible when schools, the council and the wider community work together to help encourage local children to achieve their full potential.

"As the council’s 20 year vision to regenerate Tottenham progresses, it’s vital that local people are able to benefit from the additional opportunities coming to Tottenham. This includes supporting more of Tottenham’s children to continue their studies in further or higher education.”