Peterborough United join forces with city’s new university

ARU Peterborough and the football club have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together to improve community engagement and provide more opportunities for people in the city who might otherwise struggle to find them.

The MoU is a long-term collaboration between the Posh and ARU Peterborough to use their common values and goals to improve life for people in Peterborough. With ARU Peterborough opening in the city next year, the football club will assist in reaching out into the community to encourage wider participation in higher education, be that at ARU Peterborough or elsewhere, and to provide research opportunities or potential placements for students in areas such as Sport Science, Business, and Media.

There remain pockets of the community in Peterborough who are less likely to go to university or pursue other forms of professional education, and one of the new university’s values is to increase the opportunities available to people in areas of the region that have traditionally not seen higher education as an option for them.

The MoU will see both parties working together to help the community, such as promoting a culture of volunteering in joint programmes, engaging and supporting people in health and wellbeing initiatives, and providing two strong focus points for local people to work and engage with.

ARU Peterborough is to open its doors in September 2022 to around 2,000 students in the city. Anglia Ruskin University already has a campus in Peterborough, with health and social care students based at Guild House, in Oundle Road, since 2011.

Peterborough United was recently promoted to the Championship, the second tier of English football, and has been a constant presence in the city since 1934. The Posh Foundation undertakes a host of community-based projects, delivering in schools around literacy, numeracy and healthy eating, whilst putting on Fun Days from qualified coaches and assisting with numerous other initiatives, including working with local food banks.

Professor Ross Renton, Principal of ARU Peterborough, said: “When it comes to the community and the people of the city, ARU Peterborough and Peterborough United share the same goal, to make sure everyone in the city has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“By working together, we hope to provide our community with more opportunities and a stronger sense of identity, and I look forward to working closely with the Posh for many years to come.”

Bob Symns, Chief Executive of Peterborough United, said: “This will be a magnificent opportunity to further extend the critical prospect of supporting and enhancing the tremendous community and educational work already being undertaken by the football club and ARU Peterborough. We are both here to serve our people and we’ll do it together.”