Coleg y Cymoedd learners experience ‘Student life’ at Oxford

Five Coleg y Cymoedd learners have been successful in gaining a place on the prestigious UNIQ programme at Oxford University.

AS Level learners Charlotte Bailey (16 from Treorchy), Hannah Bezant (17 from Taffs Well), Kristian Hallett (17 from Ystrad Mynach) Jessica Paige Thomas (17 from Pencoed), and Naomi Thomas (17 from Merthyr Tydfil) are delighted to have been selected for one of the places against fierce competition from a large number of applicants.

The learners will spend a week living at Oxford University; attending lectures, seminars and workshops about applying to Oxford. The five Coleg y Cymoedd learners, three of whom are from Cardinal Newman Catholic School, will also have the chance to enjoy a variety of social activities included in the programme.

The programme aims to give learners a realistic view of Oxford student life, with preference given to applicants who come from schools and areas with little or no history of successful application to Oxford. The UNIQ summer schools are an access programme, which are open to learners studying in their first year of A Levels.

To secure their place, the learners were asked to submit personal statements outlining their interest in their chosen course and their reasons for attending UNIQ. Staff members at the college were also approached to endorse the learner applications. Leaners had to give different course preferences and all five learners managed to secure their first preference. Charlotte will be attending the French course, Kristian secured a place on Ancient History and Archaeology while Hannah will sample Biochemistry.

Naomi Thomas from Merthyr Tydfil, who secured a place on the Biomedical Sciences course, said, “It is such a privilege to attend the UNIQ summer school. I never thought Oxford was even an option for me but the staff at the college made me realise my full potential and being accepted onto the summer school has brought me one step closer. I’m studying Biology at A Level and am really interested in this field and so Biomedical Sciences was an ideal course for me to do at the summer school. This is an amazing opportunity and I am really looking forward to it”.

Jessica Paige Thomas from Pencoed, who will be attending the Maths Codes and Numbers course, said, “I am really chuffed to get on to the Maths Codes and Numbers course as only twenty percent of people get accepted. I have my sights set on Oxford so this is a great step in the right direction for me.”

Congratulating the learners, Strategic Alliance Manager, Ian Rees, stated, “I am delighted that these five AS learners have secured a place on this year’s UNIQ summer school at Oxford University. Opportunities such as this are invaluable in providing an insight into university life at one of the UK’s most prestigious institutions.

At Coleg y Cymoedd, we are proud of the choice of A Levels we offer, together with the excellent teaching and support from staff. Given the level of motivation of these learners, we are very much hoping they will follow in the footsteps of one of our learners, who this year became our first learner to secure a place at Oxford to read English, and three other learners currently completing A-Levels with us, who hold conditional offers for Oxford or Cambridge for 2015.”

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CF44 8EN

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Heol y Coleg
Parc Nantgarw
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