aAh! Magazine
You are here: Home / News / Hats Off To The Kids On Campus
News

Hats Off To The Kids On Campus

26th June 2013 By 0 224
Words by Neil Harrison, photographs by Sophie Bannister


CHILDREN FROM THREE LOCAL NURSERIES don caps and gowns to celebrate their graduation from pre-school – at a real university.
As part of a ‘fantastic day’, youngsters from Didsbury Pre-school, Macintosh and St. Mary’s Day Nurseries received their diplomas from staff and students at Manchester Metropolitan University, before throwing their mortarboards aloft in celebration.
Unanimous in praising the event, over 200 proud parents and nursery staff were in attendance to cheer on their little graduates. Manager of Macintosh Day Nursery, Sarah Wildon said,

“The children have absolutely loved it. We have been coming here for the end of term graduation for three years now and every year we get great feedback from the parents. We’ll definitely be coming back next year.”
St. Mary’s manager, Lyndsey Walkden, concurred, adding:
“All the children have been really excited all day, every five minutes they were asking ‘can we go yet?’ It’s just so great for the kids to end their experience of pre-school with an event like this. It’s nice having the links with the university and being able to put on such a special day at the end of the year.”
One of the organisers, MMU’s James Draper, explained why it is so important for the university to reach out and engage with the local community,
“Kids Unlimited, the company which runs the three nurseries here today, are a sponsor of MMU’s Children’s Book Festival. Events like today show that the relationship between the university and its sponsors needn’t be simply a financial one. Integrated into that relationship is a genuine community outreach programme, one which benefits everyone, but most of all the kids here today—what a great way to make young people comfortable within a university environment at an early age.”

One of the beaming parents, Natalie Goodair, herself an MMU graduate, certainly agreed, saying,
“The ceremony is such a wonderful way to get children interested in university life. My daughter is three years old and she’s here today, running around and having a fantastic time. She has decided she wants to be an artist.”
“Days like this are something that they will remember fondly and they will always associate with university—it’s like planting a seed.”

Neil Harrison is studying Social History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is an aspiring journalist and a terrible guitar player. Read his blog LooseRiver and follow him on Twitter @LooseRiver

About the author / 

aAh!

aAh! Magazine is Manchester Metropolitan University's arts and culture magazine.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • 21st May 2026

    Q&A: DR DR on Manchester, Justin Timberlake and full-fat milk

    Featured image and gallery: Sub Khan Hailing from Manchester and playing a sold-out show at Manchester’s Lion’s Den, with an imminent EP on the way, aAh! speaks to Fred Farrell (vocals) and Danny Atherton (bass) of Dr Dr. Did you start the band during Covid times? Is that where it all originated? F: It was…

  • 16th May 2026

    Yellow Days @ Gorilla review – a night of cinematic neo-soul

    Featured image: Gary Walker Neo-blues soul artist Yellow Days, the stage name of Haslemere’s George van den Broek, returns to Manchester with his seventh album, Rock And A Hard Place, and a live show that proves just how far he has come.  Before he steps out, London-based act Brian Nasty warms the room up nicely,…

  • 12th May 2026

    The Royston Club @ O2 Victoria Warehouse gallery: sending shivers down your spine

    Featured image and gallery: Sally Stretch The Royston Club perform alongside Overpass and Permanent (Joy) at a sold-out O2 Victoria Warehouse. Welsh indie rock band The Royston Club, school friends who began playing together in 2017, now headline O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester. Touring second album Songs For The Spine, they generate an energetic sold-out…

  • 12th May 2026

    In Defence Of… Radical Optimism by Dua Lipa: My favourite misunderstood album

    Featured image: Radical Optimism Album Artwork / Warner Music Radical Optimism was released in May 2024 by Dua Lipa, an album which I have grown to love more and more after every listen, and earning  my most-listened-to album on Spotify last year. However, critics had different opinions, with the Huffington Post declaring that it’s “great, but not…

Latest Articles