The Subject Matters: North

After five  successful years in Cambridge, this year the Director of Admissions for the Cambridge Colleges, Admissions Tutors and current undergraduates from the University of Cambridge travelled to the Xscape Centre, Castleford, to deliver the practical and informative advice session to 170 Year 11 state school pupils from Yorkshire and the North.

The Subject Matters was developed because A Level subject choice can have a big impact on whether a student is a competitive applicant to highly-selective universities. The sessions are designed to help Year 11 state school students access the information they need to make informed A Level choices.

The programme focuses on the importance of suitable A Level (or equivalent) subject choices in support of an application to selective universities, and seeks to aid students in this important decision making process.

The Xscape Centre was chosen because its location and good transport links make it accessible to those from a wide geographical area including Yorkshire, Humberside, the North East, Greater Manchester and Nottinghamshire.

“It was good to have the opportunity to attend the session nearer to where I live,” said one participant, while another commented “I wouldn’t have had this opportunity if it was held elsewhere.”

Over half of the students taking part felt more positive about the University of Cambridge at the end of the session, while three-quarters said that they now had a clearer idea of the subjects they wished to study at A Level.

“The teachers were very easy to talk to and the students gave an interesting insight into student life,” said one of the Year 11 participants. “As an aspiring Cambridge student, it felt like the chance to go to this university was a lot bigger and cleared up some issues I had previously struggled with regarding A Level choices.”

Further information on The Subject Matters is available here: http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/events/subjectmatters.html