Darllenwch yn y Gymraeg

This week, Dr Jonathan Padley, Widening Participation Officer at Churchill College, Cambridge, gives his insight on how you can make the most of the Seren Network and university open days.

So, you’ve been to your Seren hub launch, you’re doing some reading, and you’ve got some academic extension activities in your calendar.  Good!  What’s next?  The short answer is, be inquisitive. One of the best things about Seren is that it’ll help you explore, with support from experts and friends. You should embrace this fully because it’ll open doors for you, some of which may already be obvious but others of which you won’t even know exist yet.

As an inquisitive explorer, you should visit the universities that you want to apply to. Prospectuses and websites are all well and good but there’s no substitute for going to a new place, entering new buildings, and meeting new people. When I taught in Swansea a few years ago, I was amazed every year that some students would finish their A levels then head off to a uni that they’d never visited. Literally, the first time they went there was to start their course, which struck me as brave… amongst other adjectives! Of course, years 12 and 13 are busy, particularly in terms of work, so you can’t spend all of them on tour. However, if you’re seriously proposing to spend at least three years of your life studying and living somewhere, wouldn’t you at least want to check it out before you arrive?

There’re lots of ways to visit potential unis: you can look around them informally, arrange a private meeting, participate in a taster event, or attend an open day. Of these, open days are a particularly good bet because they typically involve a range of staff and students, departments and faculties. They’re our – universities’ – opportunities to make ourselves totally available to you and to answer your questions. For example, at Churchill College in Cambridge, where I work, a typical open day involves:

• a detailed explanation of our admissions process, so you can learn how we’ll review your application;
• Q&As and informal chats with our students, so you can find out about the sort of people you might live with;
• a meeting with a subject specialist – a Director of Studies – so you can speak with the person who might become responsible for your learning;
• tours of College, especially accommodation, so you can get a feel for our environment and facilities;
• lunch (free and considerable!).

After attending a day like this, you’ll hopefully be in a good position to make an informed choice about whether you want to apply to the university or college you’ve visited. Sure, open days won’t always be completely representative – the weather might be great (or not) and you might meet people you really like (or not) – so you’ll need to receive them intelligently and discriminatingly. However, you should leave them with a sense of how your target course is structured and taught, and with a broad feel for the place you’ve been. Did you like it? Did you feel inspired? Do you think you’d enjoy and do well on the course you’re considering? Can you meet its entry requirements? If yes then great. If no then don’t worry – not everywhere will be for you but somewhere undoubtedly will be.

So – one more time – be inquisitive, explore, and enjoy Seren!

We’re delighted to announce the return of the third annual Seren Network conference – Seren 2017: Above and Beyond – on 6^th and 7^th December 2017 at Cefn Lea in Newtown.

Students: you’ll gather with more than 1000 other pupils from Seren hubs across Wales to take part in academic masterclasses, workshops, guest lectures from leading academics, and university panel discussions. You’ll also have access to expert advice on the most pressing issues facing today’s students, including obtaining finance, scholarships and bursaries and getting career-ready while at university. In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to speak directly with 50 leading universities, from the UK and overseas.

Teachers: we’ve designed a dedicated professional development strand for you, to equip you with the skills and knowledge to support your high-performing pupils and become champions of university access in your schools. Topics for you will include navigating university admissions tests, and planning stretch and challenge support during students’ A-levels.

We’ll be unveiling the full line-up in the coming weeks, but the draft programme is available to download here: Above and Beyond Programme

A overview of the sessions is also available here: Session options

Everything you need to know

How to book
To book places for students from an institution please visit http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/Seren2017/ and follow the simple step-by-step instructions. Please note teaching staff can book up to 10 pupil places on one form. All groups must be chaperoned by a member of staff or a responsible adult.

Food
Lunch and refreshments will be provided on both days.

Accommodation
Cefn Lea Park Conference Centre has a limited amount of basic hostel-style accommodation for students and staff travelling to the venue the evening before either day. The cost and booking of accommodation is the responsibility of the school, college or hub co-ordinator.  To book, please call Dan Morgan on 01686 625275 or e-mail admin@cefnlea.co.uk. Responsibility for the safeguarding of all students attending the conference during the day, and for those staying overnight at Cefn Lea Park, lies with the school, college and hub co-ordinator. An evening activity may be made available if there are sufficient numbers staying overnight on the 5th and 6th December.

Contact
For bookings and logistics: James Parsons on 07837 201504 or Seren2017@cazbah.biz
For event content: Greg Scannell on 07398 182819 or  greg.scannell@thebrilliantclub.org

Darllenwch yn y Gymraeg

This week, Dr Matthew Williams from Jesus College Oxford gives his advice on how you can improve your chances if you’re considering Oxbridge.

I’m a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and as a tutor in politics I have read well over a thousand applications! So what am I looking for?

Jesus College by John Cairns

The first thing to note is how difficult it is for us to make our decisions. We receive a lot of strong applications, and deciding between them is tough. As a result, we take an unusually large amount of information from each of our applicants. Besides your UCAS form, we use admissions tests and interviews to help us make the right decisions. From all of this information, we are looking, in particular, for evidence of your academic ability and potential.

That means, we’re not especially interested in any non-academic information. Whether or not you’ve excelled in sport, music, or drama, is, for instance, not going to affect your chances of securing a place. We’re also not interested in which school you’ve attended, how rich your family are, what colour skin you’ve got, what religion you follow (if any), what your gender is etc. None of these factors speak to your academic ability or potential, and so we don’t give them any consideration.

Academic ability is assessed primarily from your school results. So, fairly obviously, you need to work hard in years 12 and 13 to get the best possible A-levels (or equivalent). We don’t expect applicants to have a flawless academic record. I have occasionally admitted students to Oxford who didn’t have any A*s at GCSE, for example. Most of our degrees require you to attain AAA at A-level, not four A*s.

Jesus College by John Cairns

Academic potential is more difficult for us to gauge. We have to guess at how you might develop whilst at university. Some of the key things we’re looking for are enthusiasm and independent-mindedness. By enthusiasm, I mean that we want to have confidence that our students will make the most of their time at university. For independent-mindedness, we’re looking for young academics who do not just regurgitate something they’ve heard, but instead are willing to offer their own thoughts to help resolve complex problems.

So, what specifically should you be doing to demonstrate your enthusiasm and independent-mindedness? I suggest you devolve back to a toddler’s mindset! Like a toddler, you need to ask ‘why?’ about everything! Having thus critically assessed the world around you, pick out a specific puzzle that really bamboozles and amazes you, that’s connected to your chosen degree. Then try to solve this puzzle by reading books and articles, watching online lectures, visiting museums, talking to experts, and so on. When it comes to writing your personal statement, you can then point to a specific ‘hook’ that pulled you into the subject. And you can explain how your enthusiasm and independent-mindedness led you to some preliminary thoughts on the puzzle at hand.

I’ll give you some examples of questions that have been flying around my mind in recent weeks:

‘Why should I trust the value of a ten-pound note?’

‘Do historians essentially write fiction, if they cannot fully know the past?’

‘Is ageing a genetic disorder, that can be halted or even cured?’

‘Is democracy dying, or thriving?’

At the end of the day, not being offered a place at Oxbridge does not mean you’re not academically able, nor that you’re lacking in potential. As I said, it’s difficult to make these decisions, and it comes down to tiny differences. I wasn’t accepted by Cambridge as a 17 year old, but I don’t regret trying. I wasn’t at the top of my game at 17, but going for Cambridge really pushed me to develop my true potential, which ultimately brought me to Oxford as an academic. There’s no harm done in having a crack at the top unis, and a lot to be gained!

For more information, feel free to contact me at matthew.williams@jesus.ox.ac.uk

Darllenwch yn y Gymraeg

With a new academic year, comes a new cohort of Seren students. We would like to welcome all new year 12 students to our 11 hubs across Wales. If you haven’t had your first hub event yet, you will do over the next few months, introducing you to your local hub coordinator, fellow Seren students, and all the network has to offer.

Here’s a taste of what you can expect from being part of the Seren Network from the students themselves, as well as the teachers, hub coordinators, and university representatives that make it all possible.

The next two years will be some of the most challenging and rewarding of your life, and we’re here to help you to realise your potential and push yourself to achieve your goals.

This year’s annual Seren Network Conference will take place on December 6th & 7th, with more information available on our social media channels soon.

To find out more about Seren, click here. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for any updates on Seren news and events.

Darllenwch yn y Gymraeg

In this week’s blog, former Fitzalan High School student and recent Oxford graduate Mohamed Eghleilib tells us about his experience as a student at the prestigious university.

Initially I was under the impression that Oxbridge wasn’t for people ‘of my kind’. I assumed it was for the elite of our society, the wealthiest individuals and the geniuses. It never occurred to me to even consider studying at such prestigious universities – I’m just a ‘normal’ person from a modest background; that’s not typical of an Oxbridge student. Those were the misconceptions I had of Oxbridge for the majority of my school years.

Despite this, within the first couple of days at Oxford, I quickly realised that it’s not as intimidating as I once thought. Although I am still in awe of its beautiful buildings, it didn’t take me long to realise that the people are not much different to me and you. One particular interaction comes to mind, as in my first 2 days, I met another Pembroke student at a formal dinner in which on first impressions, he completely lived up to my expectations. He rocked up in an expensive looking suit, spoke like he was on Downton Abbey and was clearly from a very privileged background. But in actual fact, it was probably one of the most important interactions I had during Freshers’ Week, because after speaking to him over dinner, I realised that we actually had a lot more in common in terms of interest for the sciences and academic ambition, and in actual fact, we are now great friends!

Nonetheless, university will always throw multiple challenges at you, and in reality, the last three years have been a huge learning experience for me. I must be honest and admit that I did struggle to settle in at first, but I think that would have happened wherever I ended up. Not only do you have to deal with the step up in academic standard, but also learn to be independent and carry out your own chores, including clothes washing! Everyone finds themselves at different times. However, the key point is everyone finds himself or herself. The diversity within the university is great and so it’s only a matter of time before everyone forms tight friendship groups. Personally, I found myself through playing football. By playing football and attending socials and various team dinners, I got to know people a lot better and have been able to form friendships that I’m sure will last a lifetime.

Being at the world’s best medical school, it is no surprise that my first three years were academically challenging. In just nine eight-week terms, I managed to write almost 100 essays, attend hundreds of hours of lectures, many seminars, tutorials and practical classes and even carry on out my very own cutting-edge research project, in which I was able to produce some significant findings for the scientific community worldwide. You will be surprised at how efficient you will become and how quickly you adapt, because everyone at the university is there to ensure you succeed and achieve your potential.

Now that I have finished my first degree at Oxford, I look back at my experience with fond memories; memories that I will cherish for a life time. Therefore, my advice to everyone starting university is to be themselves and continue doing what they like both academically and extracurricular activity-wise. Follow your passions and you will have a great time! There will always be ups and downs, but enjoy the journey, because there is a great prize waiting for you at the end of it all. I am lucky enough to be in this position, and I’m absolutely buzzing for the next three years of clinical studies!

Best of luck, Mohamed