Children Celebrate Learning Achievements with Children’s University Graduation Ceremonies at Wakefield College and Selby College

Students celebrate their Children's University graduation at Selby College

Wakefield College and Selby College recently hosted their 2026 Children’s University graduation ceremonies, celebrating the extracurricular achievements of children from across the district.

Two ceremonies were held at Wakefield College’s Mechanics Theatre, and one ceremony was held at Selby College’s campus.

The graduations celebrate local children who have completed between 30–1,000 learning hours at a range of after-school clubs and activities.

Pupils of the programme were invited on stage in caps and gowns to collect their awards, which included certificates, diplomas, degrees or postgraduate fellowships - depending on the number of hours completed.

At Wakefield, learners Lara, Isla, Misty and Alice were recognised as postgraduate fellowship members, the highest achievement in the scheme which requires learners to complete 1,000 learning hours.

They each accumulated these hours through a range of activities including gymnastics, National Trust visits, local library activities, swimming, museums, Girlguiding and more.

To open the ceremony at Wakefield, attendees experienced a live performance of Sister Act, performed by our Performing Arts Musical Theatre students.

At Selby, CU members Hannah and Archie spoke about their experience within the scheme, and shared words of wisdom with other students. Since leaving primary school, they’ve both remained as individual members to continue building up their hours at Learning Destination providers across the district.

James Pennington, Director of Learner Journey and Wakefield and Selby’s Children’s University Manager, delivered a commencement speech to open each of the ceremonies. Following the ceremony, he said:

“It’s been a pleasure to celebrate the achievements of our Children’s University members and acknowledge the time and effort they have put into their Learning Destinations. Hearing directly from our members about the profound impact the programme has had on them is incredibly rewarding and reaffirms the importance of the work we do. We hope the programme continues to go from strength to strength, expanding across our district and engaging even more Learning Destination providers.”

Agnes, a Children’s University member through her school, received the Undergraduate Award for completing between 30 and 100 learning hours. She said:

“This is the best day of my life. Thank you to the Selby Children’s University.”

Agnes at the graduation ceremony.

Wakefield College and Selby College, both part of the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group, are two learning providers of the Children’s University, a charity that works in partnership with schools to develop a love of learning in children, and positively contributes to schools’ enrichment agendas.

Pupils involved receive a ‘Passport to Learning’ which they use to collect codes each time they participate in a learning activity such as an after-school club, with the aim of collecting as many codes and hours as possible.

The diverse learning opportunities include activities led by Heart of Yorkshire Education Group, the pupil’s school, and other Learning Destinations, with challenge activities completed either at home or online.

If you are a school or an individual member and are interested in signing up to Children’s University, please contact schoolpartnerships@heartofyorkshire.ac.uk

Or find out more about Selby and Wakefield’s Children’s University here.

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