Oxbridge

To prepare and equip prospective applicants with the high-level skills required for study on a course at Oxford or Cambridge Universities, we strongly encourage students to explore and deepen their subject knowledge well beyond the school curriculum. We call this kind of academic engagement super-curricular activity. We believe this helps students develop the necessary thinking and problem-solving skills associated with the learning experience offered at Oxford/or Cambridge.

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Matthew was a student at TBS and after his GCSE exams stayed on at the Sixth Form.

Here is his insight into applying (successfully) for a sciences course at Cambridge University.

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Written by student, Brooke Wilson, October 2020

At the beginning of the year, I applied for two competitive university summer school programmes hosted by the University of Oxford and Durham. These outreach programmes give students from underprivileged backgrounds the opportunity to have a taste of what it would be like to study their subjects at a higher level, as well as providing support and guidance throughout their later application process. At no expense to students, the summer schools usually take place residentially, allowing students to explore the location of different universities and the facilities that they can provide. Although that wasn’t possible this year, both programmes took place virtually through Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and made excellent efforts despite the circumstances to illustrate university life.

I participated in University of Oxford’s UNIQ programme ‘At Home in History: Global and Local Stories’ in July. The programme consisted of a number of lectures, seminars and academic sessions to discuss the history of home in the context of communities, cities and nations. This allowed us to investigate a particularly relevant theme in relation to a range of historical periods, including the Tudors, Victorians and the Civil Rights Movement. There were several opportunities to discuss our own interpretations with lecturers and scholars, as well as undergraduates of the University of Oxford. We also had the privilege to be able to participate in a tutorial session with lecturers and receive useful feedback on a piece of written work produced during the week. There were daily sessions on each stages of the Oxford admissions process, including guidance on personal statements, aptitude tests, submission of written work and interviews. We were encouraged to ask our academic mentors (Oxford graduates) about their experiences of applying to Oxford. Perhaps one of my favourite aspects of the programme was the ability to meet a number of like-minded students with a shared passion for history, many of whom I remain in contact with now. While UNIQ may have been a different experience to what I had expected, I would absolutely recommend any students considering studying at Oxford who are eligible to apply to the scheme to make use of the fantastic opportunity and continued support that it provides in the application process.

I also took part in Durham University’s outreach programme with the Sutton Trust for Primary Education. The scheme focused on giving us an experience of a series of activities that would prepare us to apply to Durham and practice the skills that would be used in a Primary Education degree. This consisted of a range of academic discussions with Durham’s lecturers and graduates, producing academic posters and presentations and completing a mock-interview. This outreach scheme offers its participants a guaranteed conditional offer at the university, so it is an invaluable opportunity for students. The Sutton Trust’s programmes operate across a number of the UK’s most prestigious universities and offer a wide range of subjects for students to explore.

Both programmes have provided continued support throughout the application process, hosting a series of exclusive webinars and forums. I would urge any year 12 students that are eligible to apply for these programmes to make use of such a worthwhile opportunity.

As part of their online offer, Trinity have developed a Virtual Open Day site with videos about life at Oxford, a map-based tour of key college locations and facilities, and information about key aspects of life in college – from dining and extracurricular activities to financial support.

The link will take you to Trinity’s virtual open day website!

Virtual Open Day website

There are lots of websites and books to help you with your application as well as the Sixth Form team here at The Bicester School. One of the best books is ”So You Want to Go to Oxbridge? Tell me about a banana…” by Rachel Spedding, A summary of her top ten points can be found here:

• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/student-life/10354921/Applying-to-Oxbridge-the-10-tips-for-success.html
• https://www.oxfordandcambridgeoutreach.co.uk/oxford-cambridge/applying