Hampshire teenagers set for hands-on career experience week at the University of Portsmouth this August
A careers initiative connecting young people with local employers is set to welcome teenagers aged 14-17 to the University of Portsmouth this August, giving them a rare chance to experience university and professional life first-hand before they leave school.
IgnitED Education — which runs immersive, week-long career experience programmes for 14 to 17 year olds — is hosting its Portsmouth programme from 3rd to 7th August 2026. Participants choose a specialist track across Engineering, Medicine, Law, Business, The Arts, or Broadening Horizons, and spend the week in workshops, industry visits, and sessions with working professionals.
The Portsmouth programme has secured a strong line-up of local and regional organisations. Engineering participants will visit Goodwood and the Havant Thicket Reservoir project — one of the largest new reservoirs to be built in England in decades — as well as working with The Engineering Trust, which supports young people into apprenticeship pathways. Law students will visit Portsmouth Magistrates Court to observe live proceedings and explore the workings of the justice system. Medicine students will spend a day in Medical simulation at St Richards hospital, building confidence in the realities of healthcare.
Sam Holderness, Director of Programmes at IgnitED, said: "Portsmouth and the surrounding region has a brilliant collection of organisations and professionals who genuinely want to support the next generation. By building a week of real encounters with people doing the jobs these young people are curious about, makes a real difference to how students think about their futures."
Alongside the industry-specific content, all participants will also take part in sessions on apprenticeship pathways and the new UCAS personal statement format — which now asks students to describe experiences gained outside of formal education.
Hannah Capstick, Programme Leader, added: "We're already seeing pupils from well over a hundred schools signed up across our three venues this summer. We’re so excited to deliver what will be an exceptional week."
Registrations for the Portsmouth programme close on 1st June 2026. Places are limited, and the programme is open to young people aged 14-17 from any school background. A portion of every registration funds a place for a high-achieving student who would otherwise be unable to attend.
Find out more here - https://ignitededucation.uk/