University of Western Australia: Fairway graduates vowing to come back

A graduation ceremony has been held at The University of Western Australia for 74 school leavers who completed the Fairway program, now in its tenth year.

Fairway UWA is an academic support program for Year 12 students, who are high achievers and aiming for university, to familiarise them with the campus and courses.

The program provides students, completing Year 12 under difficult circumstances, with an admission pathway to university.

Former Mount Barker Community College students Dylan Glas and Alex Gwilliam were among the graduating class and said it was a fun, supportive and worthwhile experience.

They travelled to UWA from their Great Southern town, 400 kilometres south of Perth, for parts of the program.

“I came here without a clue of what I wanted to do at uni, I just knew I wanted to be there,” Dylan, 17, said.

After doing the program, he decided he would study a Bachelor of Business after taking a gap year. “Definitely being here opened my eyes to all the different courses and allowed me to hone in on one I really liked,” he said.

Fairway comprises of several on-campus events throughout the year, a residential four-day Summer School in January, a one-day Masterclass in April, and a four-day non-residential Winter School in July, along with online support and assessments during the year.

Alex, 18, embarked on the program keen to study engineering but later decided he would be better suited to botany.

“Being surrounded by so much knowledge changes everything about your way of thinking and your next steps in life,” Alex said. “The doorways that have been opened by knowing how uni works is so helpful and broadened our horizons.”

Successful Fairway graduates are given access to a range of UWA scholarships and provided with ongoing academic and social support while they do their degrees.