Our picture shows Year 10 students from Saffron Walden County High School lined up on the steps of Selwyn’s Hall on the way into lunch. They were here this month to find out about the ambitious choices they can make for their university careers.
Visits like this happen year-round, but June and July are particularly busy times for those involved in admissions. The Open Days at the beginning of July are always a high point. This year we welcomed over a thousand visitors to Selwyn as participants in the College Open Days or as ‘drop-in’ visitors who came by as part of their trip to the University’s concurrent event. Thirsty, sometimes footsore but still enthusiastic visitors were provided with refreshing drinks as well as being given tours of the College by current students and having the chance to speak to the Admissions Tutors, Admissions Secretary and Schools Liaison Officer.
We have hosted numerous other visits by schools and individuals wishing to find out more about us and about Cambridge – such as a group of more than 60 sixth-formers from schools across Leeds and Wakefield – as well as going out to speak in schools across the country. A particular highlight was the second set of HE+ master-classes for the consortium of schools and colleges based in Calderdale and Kirklees, hosted at Greenhead College in Huddersfield. A dozen Fellows visited Yorkshire in March and three more, including the Master, went at the start of July. This year, over three hundred students from the six schools and colleges in the consortium are involved in the partnership, which we lead for the University. The school students take part in a mix of ‘extension classes’ to stretch them academically beyond the sixth-form curriculum as well as getting advice about University applications generally and Cambridge-specific information.
The teacher co-ordinators from HE+ came to Selwyn this year for their annual meeting (pictured below) with their partner Colleges and the University Admissions Office. You can read more about HE+ at http://www.myheplus.com/.
Typical comments from our visitors covered how beautiful the College looks, the excellence of the facilities and the quality of the catering. One of our visitors wrote to Ellen Slack, our Schools Liaison Officer, after the trip to say "I just wanted to thank you again for such a great day and to feedback what myself and my friends thought of Cambridge. We were completely overwhelmed by how beautiful and exciting the whole university was. We loved visiting the colleges and were so grateful for everything you arranged and provided for us. It was such a privilege so visit Selwyn College and see the outstanding facilities and gardens across the city. I was motivated before, but now I am completely determined to do everything I can to be a Cambridge student!"
After a lull for the summer holidays the visits and trips will begin again, including a two-day interviews workshop visit to Scotland. If you or your school would like to arrange a visit, please contact the admissions office. And keep an eye out for more details of our next Open Day on September 20th.
.jpg)
