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Calling all Seren Network students –

We need your help!

Ahead of welcoming you to the Seren Network’s annual conference on 15^th and 16^th March – where you’ll rub shoulders with hundreds of other bright sparks from across the country – we need your help.

We want you to get as much from Seren as possible but, to make sure we’re doing the best job we can for you, we’ve developed a five-minute Doopoll survey that’ll reveal a little about your experiences on the Network so far.

Here’s the link: doo.vote/seren1

It’s really straightforward and we’d be grateful for your responses by 3^rd March at the latest.

Please answer thoughtfully and honestly, so that we can make sure Seren is delivering on its promise to help Wales’ brightest youngsters reach their academic potential.

The Seren Network annual conference in Newtown is aimed at both students and teachers, offering the opportunity to network with other Seren students and staff, with a variety of subject workshops and panels, and the chance to engage with representatives from the UK’s leading universities. For more information and to sign-up to attend, click here. Registration closes on March 3rd.

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King’s College London is delighted to be attending the Seren conference on 15-16 March 2017. As representatives of the Widening Participation Department, we’re looking forward to engaging with young people from Wales, so be sure to come and say hello!

Who’s who?

Anne-Marie is the Director of Widening Participation at King’s College London. She provides leadership and strategic direction for full lifecycle widening participation across the institution. Anne-Marie is a member of the Universities UK Ministerial Advisory Group and recently served as Chair of the Russell Group Widening Participation Association.

Luke Chapman is the Widening Participation Officer for Partnerships. He manages the relationship with some of the department’s key partners, such as The Brilliant Club and Into University, as well as acting as the main schools contact.

We will also be joined by some of our friendly student ambassadors. These knowledgeable undergraduate students enjoy talking to young people about applying to university and what it’s like to be a student.

Adjusting to university life

Our student ambassadors will reflect on the start of their time at university, in a session for students entitled Adjusting to University Life.
They will talk delegates through how they found their first weeks and months, what they did and didn’t enjoy and how they settled in.
This session will give delegates an opportunity to get a relevant, honest student perspective. Feel free to ask anything on your mind, such as what measures they took to make friends, how they dealt with the step up in academic work or how they found moving away from home.

The panel session for teachers

King’s will also be sitting on a panel for an extended question and answer session. Teachers will hear directly from universities on matters such as widening participation and undergraduate admissions. Engaging with teachers is an important part of our department’s work, and from our experience, panel sessions are a positive way to learn about a range of topics.

Visit our university stand

Throughout the event, we are going to have representatives at a King’s stand, so Seren participants, teachers and other contributors can speak to us about King’s, London, applying for university or anything else. We will also bring King’s undergraduate prospectuses to give to anyone who wants one. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to network with young people and advisers.
This is going to be a great event and we’re looking forward to seeing you at the conference.

Luke and Anne-Marie,
Widening Participation Department
King’s College London

The Seren Network annual conference in Newtown is aimed at both students and teachers. The Welsh Government and Seren Network is covering transport costs for sixth form students and interested staff to attend the conference. Students will attend sessions by academics on topics beyond the A-level curriculum that can support university applications, while teachers will receive latest top tips, resources, and research on helping students to university, including a panel sessions with top UK unis.

For more information and to sign-up to attend, click here. Registration closes on Friday March 3rd.

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We’re officially on countdown with the deadline looming to sign up for the “Seren Network 2017: Beyond the Curriculum” conference.

On March 15 and 16 academic experts and some of the UK’s top universities will be under one roof to help Wales’ brightest students and their teachers.

Not booked your place yet? Take a look at the video below:

The Seren Network annual conference in Newtown is aimed at both students and teachers. The Welsh Government and Seren Network is covering transport costs for sixth form students and interested staff to attend the conference. Students will attend sessions by academics on topics beyond the A-level curriculum that can support university applications, while teachers will receive latest top tips, resources, and research on helping students to university, including a panel sessions with top UK unis.

For more information and to sign-up to attend, click here.

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By David Jones (Teaching and Learning Manager, The Scholars Programme, at The Brilliant Club) @BrilliantClub

In September 2015 the first wave of A-level reforms began in order to “increase the rigour of qualifications”. While there has been a mixed system between the old and new A-levels since then, students entering Year 12 in September 2017 will be studying the new A-levels in every subject.

At this year’s Seren Conference, Cambridge Assessment will be running sessions specifically focussed on how to make the most of their revision materials to tackle admissions tests, with outstanding academic master-classes and expert information, advice and guidance also available on a range of other topics.

What do the reforms mean?

Whatever you think of the A-level reforms, and you can certainly find plenty of debate both for and against them, they will have a real impact on the way that A-levels are studied and assessed. They have also contributed to changes in the ways that universities assess candidates. In practice these reforms impact on students in two main ways.

1. Under the new system there is less coursework and a mainly exam based system of assessment.
2. In England, AS-levels will no longer count towards student’s final A-level grade.*

What does this mean for university applications?

While the Welsh A-level system has undergone a less radical transformation, the changes implemented by the English government have already begun to impact on university admission processes with the University of Cambridge bringing in admissions tests for students applying for 2017 entry. Regardless of the A-level structure in your Sixth Form, therefore, English universities may well be using additional assessments during your application journey.

What are admission tests?

Admissions tests are designed to help universities make decisions during the admissions process. Although many universities do not require admissions tests, students wanting to study at Oxford and Cambridge or subjects such as medicine and law are likely to have to (a full list of test can be found here on the UCAS website).

Many of these admissions tests are written by examining bodies such as Cambridge Assessment, the oldest exam group in existence and the only one attached to a university.

How should you prepare for admissions test?

Admissions tests can be a daunting prospect and it often appears very difficult to find information on how to tackle them.

For this very reason, Cambridge Assessment have made a host of past papers and exam specifications available to access for free. If you are thinking about applying to a university or course that requires an admissions test, their admissions testing website is a great place start (although be aware that some tests, such as UKCAT, are not administered by Cambridge Assessment so do check carefully which test you are being asked to sit).

Cambridge Assessment page for test-takers provides a host of links to each assessment that they run where you can find past papers, specifications and marking criteria. Here are a couple of examples:

BMAT (for applications to medicine**)

ELAT (a pre-interview admissions test for studying English at Oxford and Cambridge)

How best to use past papers:

1. Familiarise yourself with the types of questions that are asked
2. Begin by answering without timing yourself: plan you answers and refer to books if you need to
3. Mark your answer using the mark scheme and identify what you did well and areas to develop
4. Write an improved ‘model’ answer
5. If you can, ask a teacher for support and feedback
6. Build up to writing under strict exam conditions – remember the key thing is to get your essays as good as they can be before you practising your speed

What next?

The Seren Network annual conference in Newtown is aimed at both students and teachers. The Welsh Government and Seren Network is covering transport costs for sixth form students and interested staff to attend the conference. Students will attend sessions by academics on topics beyond the A-level curriculum that can support university applications, while teachers will receive latest top tips, resources, and research on helping students to university, including a panel sessions with top UK unis.

For more information and to sign-up to attend, click here.

*In Wales, students’ AS-level grades will count for 40% of their overall A-level grade.

**Some medicine courses require the UKCAT instead. Further information about that test can be found here.

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On March 15 & 16, Welsh Government and The Brilliant Club are hosting the ‘Seren Network 2017: Beyond the curriculum’ conference offering expert advice and guidance to support you; Wales’ brightest sixth-formers.

We want to help you achieve your academic potential so that you can gain access to the UK’s top universities, so here are 7 reasons why the Seren Conference should be in your diary this March:

1. Join more than 2000 other bright sparks from across Wales to share experiences and plans
When you go to university you’ll instantly find yourself in rooms full of eager strangers with whom you’ll be studying and socialising. The conference will be good practice for this, enabling you to share experiences with other outstanding students hoping to study at the UK’s top universities.
2. Broaden your knowledge with masterclasses from top academics
Impress your uni of choice by showing how you’ve gone way beyond the A level and Welsh Bacc curriculums; taking part in bespoke sessions from medical science to language, literature and culture. These are delivered by universities and academics and will give you an insight into potential future degree subjects
3. Learn how to tackle that admissions test
If you’re thinking about applying to Oxbridge or other top university, you should be prepared to take a written assessment; either pre-interview or at interview. At the conference, you’ll hear first-hand from Cambridge Uni how to best prepare for this part of your application.
4. Develop effective study skills
Learning at university is a lot different to school and college. Our experts will be able to advise how to get the most out of your lectures and seminars; including everything from effective note-taking to how to revise.
5. Network with the best universities in the country
At the event, universities will be on-hand to speak to you about your options; a unique opportunity to have all of your future university prospects in one room at the same time!
6. Get top tips on how to adjust to university life
You’ll get the chance to chat to representatives from the UK’s top universities on campus life and how to wash your clothes when you’re away from mum and dad!
7. Hear about what finance options are available to you
Student finance doesn’t have to be scary. There are lots of grants and loans on offer and Student Finance Wales can help work out what’s best for you.

The Seren Network annual conference in Newtown is aimed at both students and teachers, offering the opportunity to network with other Seren students and staff, with a variety of subject workshops and panels, and the chance to engage with representatives from the UK’s leading universities. For more information and to sign-up to attend, click here.

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Hi, I’m Ben, I’m a Year 13 student at St Cenydd Community School in Caerphilly. I currently study History, Geography, Welsh and RE along with Welsh Bacc. I’m part of the EAS Seren hub, and hope to study history at university.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to gain a place at Oxford University’s UNIQ summer school, which I wouldn’t have known about without the Seren Network. A notice sent out by Seren alerted me to the opportunity, and it seemed like a great opportunity to broaden my knowledge base and make the most of my time during the summer period. The personal statement workshop I took part in with the Seren Network came in handy as I had to write a short personal statement as part of the UNIQ application.

Oxford is competitive 

The summer school appealed to me because of the competitive nature of Oxford and how it would help me in uni applications and in the future. I applied because it was a great opportunity to help me get into a prestigious university when it came to my UCAS application, but also gave me a taste of university life and lectures.

I was nervous to go but realised that this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I decided to study Theology at Oxford Summer school, and was sent pre-reading by Oxford for some contextual knowledge for the course I would do there, though this wasn’t vital to read before I went.

Once I got there I felt much more comfortable. Everyone was very forward, starting conversations and getting to know each other, so there weren’t any awkward or uncomfortable silences. It was just interesting to meet different people from different areas and feel welcomed. Since leaving Oxford, I have kept in touch with many of the other students through social media, so it was also a great chance to network and meet new people with similar goals and interests.

Getting to know each other

When we got to our dorms, we did some ‘getting to know each other’ activities and team games. The lectures and sessions were varied – there were lectures on the different aspects of university life, financial support, and housing. I also had sessions on university application assessments, answering the questions on the Oxford tests, and what I could expect if I took one. I had further sessions on personal statements, which helped specifically with Oxbridge and the other top unis in the UK.

Then I had lectures and tutorials on my chosen subject, Theology. The tutorials were interesting and something I hadn’t done before. We were taught in pairs by one of the professors, and I wrote an essay on a question provided by him, before going through it together and discussing the content. It was really helpful to experience the university learning style, as I now feel like I know what to expect when I start my lectures this year.

Addition to my UCAS application

I would strongly recommend it to other Seren students. It’s a chance to experience university life, before actually going to university. It helped with some worries I had about going to university, especially the social side of things. But even more importantly it greatly aided my application to other universities, and is an impressive addition to my UCAS form. If any student is thinking of applying to UNIQ, they should definitely go for it. The application itself can be used like a mock application when it comes to applying to universities.

I believe that Seren students should take every opportunity provided by the programme, as every little helps in building a strong university application, and gives you the best chance to get into the university of your choice.

UNIQ is a programme of free summer schools at Oxford University, with all courses, accommodation and meals provided. UNIQ 2017 applications close at 11pm on January 24th, visit http://www.uniq.ox.ac.uk/selection for more information on selection criteria and how to apply.

A number of the UK’s top universities offer summer school programmes, including –

• All Sutton Trust summer schools – http://www.suttontrust.com/programmes/summer-schools/
• Headstart STEM programmes – http://www.etrust.org.uk/headstart/courses
• Pathways to Property summer school – http://www.henley.ac.uk/rref/rref-what-we-do/Pathway_to_Property/Pathways_to_Property_Summer_School_Information_Page.aspx
• UCL Summer Schools in London – http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/widening-participation/activities/summer-schools
• KCL University’s free summer school – http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/widening-participation/our-activities/sutton-trust-summer-school/index.aspx

If you have attended a summer school at one of the UK’s top universities and want to share your experience with us, please get in touch at seren@golleyslater.co.uk

On March 15^th & 16^th the Seren Network will be holding its annual conference in Newtown for students and teachers, offering the opportunity to network with other Seren students, a variety of subject workshops and panels, and the chance to engage with representatives from the UK’s leading universities.