Highcliffe to Oxford and Cambridge

As part of the Aspiring Oxbridge Programme at Highcliffe we recently held an Information Seminar for Year 8 and 9 students and their parents.

After refreshments on arrival the evening focused on:

• ‘What is required’ in an Oxbridge application
• How to ‘start building’ an Oxbridge portfolio of experience
• The ‘super curriculum’ and how this start in Years 8 and 9
• How extra-curricular activities fit in
• Thinking ahead about work experience and voluntary work
• What a personal statement should contain when students apply and how this can start to build from Year 8 and 9 onwards
• Academic requirements and becoming a subject specialist
• The Oxford tutorial and Cambridge supervision approach to learning
• The College system and life as an undergraduate
• The application process and calendar cycle
• Additional entry requirements including aptitude tests, STEP mathematics and academic writing
We were fortunate to be able to use presentations from an Oxford University admissions tutor and guidance from a range of conferences and lectures that both staff and students in Years 10, 11 and 12 have attended over the past 12 months.  Frequently asked questions were discussed and we dispelled many of the myths around Oxbridge applications.

Our Year 10 students, Tim Holloway, Stephanie Fletcher-Jones and Jack Ogden talked eloquently and with consummate ease about their visit earlier this term to St. Hilda’s and Oriel College at Oxford.  Year 11 students considering Oxbridge were left well alone as they were in the midst of their GCSE final examinations and every A and A* matters!

Year 12 students were also centre stage during the evening. Head Girl, Megan Kydd-Coutts talked to parents and students about the support systems of our own tutorial approach in the Sixth Form whilst preparing a UCAS application.  Head Boy, Andrei Gheorge, talked about his aspiration to study Languages at Oxford, the experiences that he has gained to date and where he is with his personal statement! We must also congratulate Zoe Sheard, who has been successful in her application to take part in the prestigious Summer School at Oxford. Zoe hopes to study medicine at Oxford after her A levels. We wish her every success at the Summer School!

We are very proud of our alumni and here are just a few:

Beth Waters  Oxford  English
Ryan Flanagan  Oxford  Maths
Samantha Millard Cambridge Economics
Heidi Barnet  Oxford  Physics
Jack Field  Oxford  Biological Science
Phoebe Barnett Oxford  Experimental Psychology
Jacob Brennan  Oxford  French and Spanish
Christopher Slade Oxford  Mathematics 
Eleanor Sheekey Cambridge Natural Sciences
Samuel Field  Oxford  Mathematics
Alice Ritchie  Oxford  Italian and Linguistics
Tessa Rizzoli  Cambridge Japanese