Students are working hard to secure a place at the country’s top universities. To prepare for the rigorous selection process in the last few weeks students have attended an Oxbridge Masterclass and taken a behind the scenes tour of Oxford University.
On Friday 31 January a group of Year 12 ‘ASPIRE’ students attended an Academy Conference at Wellington School entitled "More Able and Ambitious Masterclass – Big ideas for curious minds." Alongside 300 other students, the group took part in University style lectures delivered by Oxford professors on a range of subjects from Epistemology, to the Science of Happiness, from The Philosophy of Love and Relationships to Shakespeare and his use of humours and appetites. The day concluded with a big debate on the issue of "What is more important: a healthy body or a healthy mind?"
On Tuesday 4 February students travelled to the University of Oxford. They enjoyed a comprehensive tour of one of the University colleges, Christchurch, which was led by their Deputy Development Director and Joanna Hodnett (a Sidcotian, who is an Oxonian and Christchurch alum). Their tour included some areas not normally accessible, including; the JCR (Junior Common Room where undergraduates hang out), the Upper Library (containing a large collection of rare books and early printed manuscripts in medicine, music, classics and theology) and the world famous dining hall with its grand staircase that featured in the Harry Potter Philosopher’s Stone film. In the afternoon the group visited the Earth Sciences Faculty where they met with Professor Tony Watts (Sidcotian, Class of 1965), and three other colleagues who delivered a typical undergraduate Tutorial session on the geology of the Mendips. The day concluded with some valuable information from the University’s former Admissions Director with advice on how to make a successful application to Oxford and to prepare for the interview process.
These students can take inspiration from Nina Guy (19 from Burrington) who completed her time at Sidcot in September last year and recently successfully negotiated the Oxford University selection process. Nina will begin her Human Sciences course in October this year. While at Sidcot Nina took the International Baccalaureate Diploma and was one of only a handful of students worldwide who managed a maximum 45 points. This outstanding score equates to more than five A*s at A Level. Incredibly, on top of the rigorous workload of the IB, Nina managed to fit in an AS Level in Art.
Reflecting on her success, Nina said: “I chose the IB because I liked the broad range of subjects it offered, meaning I could keep learning more of the subjects I had enjoyed at GCSE. I did Psychology, Chemistry, Biology, English, Maths and French. Sidcot has been a very supportive environment, but it has also given me quite a lot of independence in my studies. The teachers have been amazing and the small class sizes have also been really helpful.”
Clare Winchester-Snell, Academic Enrichment Coordinator at Sidcot, said: “Nina’s achievements serve as excellent example to our current students. At Sidcot we aim to support all our students to fulfil their academic potential. For some of our students this will mean pursuing their Higher Education at the leading Universities both in the UK and internationally.”
