A peek into life as a pharmacy student (Partners Academic Summer School 2026)

For all of those unaware, the Partners Academic Summer School (abbreviated to PASS) is run by Newcastle University as part of a few conditions to receive a reduced offer to study there. This is only for a few courses and under specific circumstances; for example, being first-generation (direct relatives didn't go to university), your home postcode, and the secondary school you attended. I was fortunate enough to qualify for this programme and receive a heavily reduced offer! This is an amazing programme that I would definitely recommend signing up for if you're interested in studying at Newcastle. With the only requirements for the reduced offer being meeting the qualifying requirements and attending a week-long summer school (half online, half in-person), it's a no-brainer!
I opted to take part in some of the optional induction-week live sessions, which helped build my confidence for turning up to the summer school the week after. However, nothing could prepare me for the hell that was my first day. 

my wonderful brekkie

    Sunday - induction day
I was part of the people who were in-person Sunday-Tuesday and in-person Wednesday-Friday; I was thoroughly disappointed when I tried to buy tickets a few days in advance, as the trains were cancelled for Friday (thankfully not the Monday or Tuesday). This meant that my journey time would almost double, and made things much more awkward as the buses from my town to Newcastle are few and far between. I thankfully found a time that worked for me, despite meaning I would have to leave at 10:40 and arrive home at approximately 20:00, as the sessions were 13:00-16:00 and 16:30-17:30. I thought, surely the first session will be filled with things to do! I later found out I was sorely mistaken.

My day begins with panic as I rush to park near the bus stop, as I feared I would not arrive within my half-an-hour-early window. Thankfully, I was ten minutes early for that. But that begs the question - how do I fill my forty minutes before the bus arrives? I opted to walk to the McDonald's that was nearby and order a bacon & egg McMuffin - as always, delicious.

After finishing my second breakfast of the day, I waited for the bus for approximately fifteen minutes. I got on, with my only hassle being that I had to have a staring competition with a child blocking the staircase until his mother scolded him, reminding him he was not allowed to sit upstairs. I was grateful to get a seat. A backwards seat. Although I am incredibly prone to travel sickness, I was sure I'd be fine! I'd taken a travel sickness pill AND had my travel wristbands on; they always work!

For the half an hour along the motorway, they did work. With the cool breeze flowing into the bus to cool me down, and my water to quench my thirst whenever I pleased, I was fine. Until the bus had to drive on a proper road rather than a motorway. Bumpy. Sweaty. Boiling. A few words to describe how the journey was before I felt ill. I didn't want to move seats to maintain my image to the other passengers as someone who doesn't jump between sitting next to other passengers. But fortunately, my desire to maintain my image to the other passengers as someone who doesn't spew from travel sickness overcame me.
I moved to a forward-facing seat, somewhat hyperventilating and downing my water to rid myself of the sick feeling, until I decided that a stop was close enough to my destination that I could get off and get some fresh air. Thankfully, the bus stop was one with a bench, and a lovely couple asked if I was okay. Bless them; I hope they're well. Their suitcase fell over on the bus and slid halfway down the aisle. But this was not the only problem - I was one hour and forty minutes early. I was still slightly ill, so I didn't want to sit in a cafe to do work, so I went to find the PASS student ambassadors (I don't think that's their correct title, whoops) and ask for any recommendations on where to work - I was recommended Newcastle University's Student Union (NUSU) Wetherspoons.

This was my next mistake. I spent possibly my whole time there trying to connect to any sort of wifi, but none of it would work for some reason, and so I did not manage to complete any of the training for my new Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) role that I was planning on doing. I admitted defeat by the time it was 12:55 and headed for my registration.

I queued for about ten minutes max (perks of having a W surname). I received my lanyard, a beautiful blue, and was, for some reason, down as having accommodation? There was a morning and an afternoon session that day, with the morning being for people local to the area. Which confused me, as, typically, I would just get a thirty-minute train; I would have considered that local, but apparently not. I also hadn't completed the form, so, wow, way to assume (joking - that was very kind of them to consider me regardless). It must have been easy to solve, as they just said they would remove 'my' room key from the pile, thank goodness, as otherwise I would have had four wasted train tickets and one outfit for the three days. From there, I received two £7 food vouchers for anywhere on-site, though places run by the Student Union unfortunately didn't count, and was able to write my name & pronouns onto a card on my lanyard. This was all super fun. Until I found out there was nothing to do between my receiving the induction resources and the induction assembly. Three and a half hours, when I was somewhere I could not connect to the wifi to do any of the work I planned to do.

Thankfully, I had some friends nearby in a local Wetherspoons that I chilled with before heading to the assembly, so thank god for them! I don't really have anything to say about the assembly in all honesty, other than the fact that walking in kind of felt like a free-for-all.

       Monday - day one

Day one started off well; my mam was kind enough to put my hair into a French braid - since having short hair my whole life up until the age of about 15, it's not a skill I ever learned; thankfully, she does it for me - however, my anxiety was spiking as she got about halfway through and then decided she had to redo it. In hindsight, it's obvious that my anxieties are ridiculous, as I always give myself way more time than necessary to get there; I just love being early to things. As the saying goes, "Better to be early than late."For once, the train arrived on time, and so I didn't have to wait too long, much better than getting the bus that makes me ill! I always wonder how I get travel sick on a bus, but never when I drive or when I travel on the train. Very odd. Anywho, I was quite productive on the way there; I completed some of my RVS training. It was mostly reading, and I kept getting distracted by other passengers' conversations. I should have put my headphones on, but I am far too nosy.

Once I arrived in Newcastle, I practically raced to the Greggs at the bottom of Northumberland, thinking it had tables and chairs to work at, stupidly walking past the Greggs that does have tables and chairs in it. Hence my bringing my laptop and getting to Newcastle over an hour early to get some work done and have my breakfast was pointless - well, not the breakfast part; that was delicious as always. So I admitted defeat (still forgetting about the Greggs right near the station that would have been ideal) and headed towards the Newcastle University campus and sat near the Boiler House to have my breakfast and hot chocolate in silence.

After waiting for about an hour, it was finally about half an hour before my session, so I felt this was more than ample time to get to my session. Finding the building was easy as pie thanks to Google Maps, and since I was early, I decided I would use the toilet. However, the signs were idiot-proof, and so I completely walked past the toilets the first time, thinking they were some sort of storage room. This is where I bumped into another pharmacy student, with both of us being confused as to where to go. I had priorities, so I used the toilet. By the time I came out, there were more of us, and so we were brave enough to wander upstairs (it definitely wasn't that practically all of us had missed the signs by the entrance telling us where the different rooms are). We all headed upstairs and found seats, completely away from each other! True friendship!

I did make some friends with the girls who sat with me whilst we sat through the introductory session, though we were sadly quickly separated as I was placed in a separate group to them. The introductory session is also where I learnt that the timetable we were shared in advance was a lie. That was an equivocation (GCSE Macbeth coming through for that word); it was just somewhat different because we were in different groups. I was one of the lucky ones to where the sessions ended at 12:00 and I didn't have any sessions until 14:30. Which meant I had a two and a half hour lunch.

The first session of the morning was on the history of pharmacy as a profession, what to expect at the summer school, the importance of signing the register, what it was like to be a pharmacist, the importance of signing the register, and researching the asthma case study. It wasn't very productive for me, but I had fun making friends! 

We then had an hour-long lecture straight afterwards about the pharmacology of asthma. Which is where my nightmares came true - the whole summer school was going to be biology-based. This was not a problem for anyone I was sitting with, but for me, it was like they were speaking Mandarin. They were using words I had never heard of before, which I felt like I should have known, as everyone else was just nodding along like they were basic terms. Silly biology bashers... how dare they do a subject that is extremely helpful for any healthcare career... don't they know chemistry is the only requirement?... I kid, I kid. It's my fault for waiting too long to have the realisation that I wanted to do pharmacy, so I couldn't change any of my subjects to biology. I did speak to a lecturer on the last day, and he just said they would reteach it, but I'd have much more to do outside of lectures and seminars than other people. My goal for this summer is to learn some basic biology so that I can make September-me a bit happier. If I get the grades required...

Thankfully for me, the second lecture finished thirty-five minutes earlier than scheduled, which meant I had time to get a head start on my online modules! I decided to go to the city library. Unfortunately, when I got there, it was overrun by primary school children, so after quickly using the toilet, I skedaddled back to the university site. Thank the lord for the Partners Help Desk, as someone gave me a recommendation for where to go - the Walton Medical Library. I needed to be in the medical school for my next two sessions anyway, so it was ideal. I bumped into my friends on the way there. They must have thought I was so cool, working over lunch! I'd tried to go to the Walton Medical Library during an open evening, but was confused by the very easy signage. Thankfully, this time there were even more signs - presumably for the Partners Summer School! Unfortunately, I embarrassed myself. I tried to walk in after a girl, thinking she pressed a button, but was quickly humbled by her and a member of the library staff. They were both very kind about it, but it was extremely embarrassing to me!

I stuck to the group study (I can't remember the exact name) part of the library; it was really nice there! Not many people, so it was relatively quiet; not that it mattered, as I had my noise-cancelling headphones on, and I sat in a cute little nook thing to get my work done. It allowed me to eat my packed lunch and begin working on a cell biology video. It took me the whole time I was there to do it because of how many unfamiliar words there were - GCSE biology was only helping so much!

At about 13:55, I decided to head off for my session as I had no idea where I was going, and the medical school was like a maze to me. Thankfully, there was a reception where I could ask where to go. Unfortunately, I was still confused, and when I came back to ask for help, there was no one at reception. Fortunately for me, I spotted two girls and asked them if they were in the pharmacy strand - yes - and if they knew where they were going - also yes! Unfortunately, it took us (and another girl who followed along) about 10 minutes to find where we were going, but we still got there early and were, thankfully, in the right place! When some other girls arrived, I started chatting with them whilst we waited for the session to start. One of the girls asked where I was from as I was the first person she heard with a northern accent - insane by the way - and she had also never heard of the saying, "Shy bairns get nowt." For some reason, I thought this was a phrase used nationwide. Every day's a school day, though.

I haven't yet mentioned what the session was, but it was my dreaded SimMan session. For those unfamiliar with those horrific machines, it's a (actually really cool) robot who basically simulates a patient - he can talk, cough, urinate, has a pulse, is oddly warm, parts of him can change colour (e.g. lips turning blue), he blinks, and he can die. I was first introduced to these at a Sunderland University open day in Year 12; I was immediately horrified, especially due to my PTSD (not actually) from a puppet in Year 2 (story for another day).

my fab drawing of part of the body
from a mannequin thing

The session was split into three groups - a group getting an insight into working with the dreaded SimMan, a group looking at the anatomy of the lungs & looking through BNFs (British National Formulary, basically a dictionary for all possible medications), and a group measuring their peak flow & breath rate, comparing it to before and after completing five minutes of light exercise. As a quick rundown, one girl in my group was arrested for not asking for consent to use an inhaler on the SimMan having an asthma attack, another overdosed him on salbutamol, I didn't even end up drawing a picture of the lungs, and I could barely do five minutes of light exercise. It was a lot of fun, and we finished early again! The pharmacy team currently has a great track record in my book.

My last session of the day was a lecture in a lecture theatre on Pharmacy as a Career. The lecturer was Dr Anna Robinson, and wow, was her work history interesting! She'd worked in so many different pharmacy sectors and shared some sectors I had never really considered were job roles in themselves. For example, media pharmacists- I knew there were pharmacy conferences, but I had always assumed they were a volunteer-based thing! I also didn't know about there being pharmacists within army barracks, which makes sense, but what shocked me was that they are sort of like reserve officers, so still have to pass the basic fitness tests and stuff like that. My boyfriend is in the army, so I joked I would join so I could follow him around on his 'tours' (I can't think of the proper word, woops); he was not a fan!

This session was insanely informative, and finished early yet again! Which gave me time to rush to the station and be half an hour early for my train, yay me! Monday was one of my favourite days in all honesty; the large break between my morning and afternoon sessions allowed me to see where I could be in two months doing my revision for my course. It really piqued my excitement!

I can't believe how insanely long this blog post is, and I've only written about 2/6 days (not that the online days have much to say about them).

       Tuesday - day two

This was quite possibly the toughest of the three in-person days. Both mentally and, unfortunately, physically later on.

The day started as the previous day did: me worried I was going to be late! Which, as I have said before, is ridiculous, as I am chronically early. I can't remember the last time I was late for something, in all honesty. I did not bring my laptop on this day, as the day before, my back was in agony from carrying it around, so I travelled much lighter on this day. Which I immediately regretted. 

Walking from the station was when I realised that, quite literally, a five-minute walk up from it was the Greggs I was picturing. With indoor seating available. I was so annoyed at myself. I was there over an hour early (darn me and my need to buy tickets in advance). I still sat inside with my breakfast, but instead planned where I would meet my friend for lunch, since I would be coming from the medical school and she would be coming from the law school. This could have been much more productive had I brought my laptop. But what do I value more: a pain-free back or a productive morning? It was the productive morning. I regretted it so much; I could have finished much more of my RVS training or even more of my modules! Darn Monday-evening-me and my want to not have a painful back!

Once I'd finished my breakfast and drunk as much of my hot chocolate as I could bear - I can't stand the last third of hot chocolates, just feels full of dregs to me - I headed off back to campus, where I sat the day before. Well, that was my plan until I got anxious thinking I was going to be late, so I headed straight for the medical school. After arriving half an hour early and almost entering a Backrooms-esque room, I found the lab, and the lecturer had just turned up! And she told me I was only allowed in at 9:00! Damn. Unlucky. Oh well! I just kind of awkwardly stood and waited. I'd expected it would take me much longer to find, like the SimMan room, but at least this lab had the proper labelling and was obvious about where I needed to go. Thankfully, some other girls turned up early, allowing me to chat with them for a bit - this summer school really helped with my communication skills; I feel as though they've been lacking. I think my goal for this summer is going to be feeling more confident when communicating. I'm hoping to start two new volunteer roles and return to an old one, so hopefully that should help.

I managed to stick with one of the girls I had met when entering the lab, and a girl from my group in the SimMan session joined us too! They were really nice and easy to talk to; I felt as though I was able to have a laugh with them and make it enjoyable. Especially since I did not understand anything. The lecturer did an amazing job explaining respiration and the different lung volumes, but for some reason it did not transfer over to the respiratory practical. It was fun to do, but inputting the data was frustrating to me as it felt like I was going in circles trying to figure out how to calculate the expected values of lung volumes, writing the reasons why it was, and then also trying to pick the correct points on the graphs that corresponded to the different data values. 

We ended up getting a whole section wrong because, for some reason, the system wasn't picking up the massive exhales the girl was doing (we had to pick a girl in our group to breathe into the machine). I wish I could elaborate more, but it would feel wrong as I myself had no clue - just Google spirometry experiment if you're interested, as I think that should go to the right sort of page. Thankfully, we were let off for our wrong data and allowed to leave half an hour early! Not as early as some groups, but early nonetheless, as this practical was really draining me mentally. Just some personal morning things that made me quite miserable, irritable and impatient (I'm already a bit like that too, so it was just amplified). Although I was eager to leave, the spirometry practical was actually interesting and helped me get a good view of what sort of computer systems I could be using this coming September, and how a lab session could go. Hopefully my lab sessions in September will be more successful than this!

After this, I had my hour-and-a-half lunch (very beautiful) and felt blessed to have a ladybird land on me! I just really wanted to share because I've never felt so special and chosen in my life... It also made me feel better after having the same fly land on my hand about fifty times, which freaked me out quite a lot.

My last session of the in-person summer school was a computational session. I wasn't sure what to expect from this; I thought maybe processing data from our lab session, but we had done this in the session. I was obviously wrong, and we spent the time being introduced to ChemDraw! Well, we used MolDraw, but the lecturer explained to us what ChemDraw was; my favourite thing that I learned from this is that you can draw out a molecule, and then use a feature to search suppliers which will make this, and you can buy it from them! That was a very rudimentary explanation, but I thought it was cool! I think it's used during, like, research projects? I wish I had noted this down in more detail, as I feel as though I can only vaguely remember! 

That session lasted for about an hour before another lecturer came in, and we completed some interactive activities on diffusion & osmosis, action potential, preparing a smear slide, and Gram stain. I, unfortunately, did not finish these at the time as I spent a lot of the time trying to figure out what words meant and gossiping, as a lot of the words being used were from A-Level biology, and the girls I was with could only help me so much. But in trying to Google what words meant, I just ended up going down a rabbit hole as the definitions would include more words which I had never seen before. I was able to finish this at home, but I would have rather finished it in the session because it would have been more convenient for me. I still felt as though I learnt a lot or was recapped on some GCSE biology concepts.

The exciting part of this day was that the original timetable that we were sent in advance said that we would finish at 17:00, which is what I continued to believe. However, I had missed the fact that the new timetable said that we finished at 16:00 and a message had been sent into the Partners WhatsApp group chat. I felt so blessed. I quickly rearranged my train ticket to 16:40 - I was so eager to go home early! The last hour was planned to be a wrap-up session, but we finished about forty-five minutes earlier. Thank you to everyone who didn't have questions during the Q&A portion, which meant I had time to do something I had only briefly considered: look through Forbidden Planet. 

My boyfriend and I had plans to see Supergirl together on Friday evening, but he decided to go and get a highly contagious skin infection, so he's been isolating. Therefore, I planned to buy the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic from Forbidden Planet, but (as you will know if you read my blog post on Friday) I ended up buying three comics and finishing one on the train home - Superman: Red Son. I go a bit more into detail about it in my blog, but it was so good, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an easy, fun read! I'm still yet to read the Supergirl comic, but plan to do it soon and am super excited. Unfortunately for me, though, whilst I was walking to the station, I slipped off the kerb (didn't even fall over), and knackered my left ankle to where I had to hobble to the station. Genuinely no idea what I did there, but it made me feel like an attention seeker.

When I got home, I was so happy to be able to lie in bed and just prepare for my upcoming online sessions.

Wednesday to Friday - the online days

In all honesty, I don't have much to say about the online portion of the summer school. I completed the employability and the higher education modules the week before, as pharmacy didn't have an Ask the Experts live, so we either had to join another subject's live or watch the recording from last year. I chose to watch last year's and fill in the reflection form; I would say it was just as useful, as any questions I had were being asked by the people from last year.

The only problem I really had with the sessions was that there was so much biology for a course which doesn't require you to have done biology. This, in my opinion, made some of the multiple-choice questions much harder. I do understand that biology is just as much a part of pharmacy as chemistry is and that it's a very common science subject to take to do pharmacy; however, Newcastle University does not require you to do it to do pharmacy, so I was surprised at the fact that practically everything required you to have at least some understanding of A-Level biology. A lot of the words and concepts were unfamiliar to me - I know some parts of the course were unfamiliar to A-Level biology students too, but it felt like an even bigger gap to me. I am still grateful to have attended the summer school, as it has really motivated me more to try and learn some A-Level biology before starting in September. This is something I had considered doing before, but wasn't really sure, as I thought I would 'just catch up in September', but I think I'd like to give myself a bit more of a chance to understand new concepts when I start my degree.

I'll be honest when I say I think that's everything I have to say about my experience at the Partners Academic Summer School! I had a really amazing time despite my complaints about biology. I feel much more confident in understanding how university actually works - before, I had no idea how lectures, seminars, or lab sessions worked. I met some amazing people while I was there, and hopefully they'll be people I'll be able to be friends with in September.