Oxford & Cambridge Universities
Queens' College Cambridge Newsletter January 2024
A-level choices, degree pathways and career prospects:
https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/ This site has guidance from the Russell Group around A level choices and degree subjects - you can either put in a set of A level subjects and see what degree courses they might lead to, or pick a degree subject you are interested in and find out what A levels are likely to be required.
www.thewayup.co.uk Funded by The Department for Education, TheWayUp! is a fun and engaging app that provides up-to-date information on the long-term consequences of education and career choices. Using real-world data, it gamifies important life decisions including A-levels, apprenticeships and university course choices. Based upon these decisions, the game then simulates the occupations available to players and the first five years of their graduate lives!
Supercurricular learning
www.myheplus.com HE+ is an outreach programme that supports students in Y12 to prepare to apply to selective universities including Cambridge – I coordinate this programme for Bradford 6th forms and colleges. The website is open to anyone, and hosts supercurricular resources created and written by Cambridge students and academics including challenging activities, engaging videos, reflective questions and much more. Our content is aimed at school-aged students looking to go beyond the school curriculum and discover their passion for a subject.
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/improve-application This section of the university website allows students to click on the degree they are interested in and see a list of suggested supercurricular ideas and resources
The Cambridge Foundation Year in Arts Humanities and Social Sciences
https://www.foundationyear.cam.ac.uk/ There are three categories of eligibility criteria for this programme: individual characteristics, family characteristics and school/college characteristics. Applicants must meet one or more criteria from at least two categories: Beckfoot Upper Heaton currently meets the school eligibility criteria, and anyone eligible for FSM/Ever 6 meets the family criteria. Care experienced, refugee and asylum seeker applicants are automatically eligible.
Medicine
A couple of the Y11 boys asked specifically about medicine – they may find useful support from the Widening Participation Medics Network https://www.wpmedicsnetwork.com/aspiring-students and I would also flag up the Sutton Trust Summer Schools which they may well be eligible to apply for in Y12
