Foster children's festive recordings at Leeds Beckett University

Children aged between six and 16 took part in the fun day with their foster parents, joining in with arts and crafts and taking a tour of the state-of-the-art music studios.

The youngsters also recorded Christmas carols with the Beckett Choir before taking home CD copies of their performances.

Will Atkinson, collaborative outreach co-ordinator at Leeds Beckett, said: “After the success of our Foster Family Fun Days over the last two years, we invited more foster families in the run-up to Christmas to help them become more familiar with universities.

“Leeds Beckett has a long-standing commitment to recognising and removing barriers that young people in care face in their journey towards higher education.”

Lucy Price, a final year sociology student and student ambassador at the fun day, has experience of growing up in care.

She said: “These type of events let the children and young people get the feel of university.

“It gives them a taste of what life at Leeds Beckett could be like for them in the future.

“Exposure to universities plants the seed of university and further education into the young person’s mind from an early age.

“They will remember the event and that will shape how they think about university.

“It is also important for the looked-after children to see how previously fostered children have gone on to succeed.”

Aaliyah Hussain, one of the youngsters who took part, said: “I liked the singing and getting to hear my voice back after.

“I would love to go to university when I’m older.”