Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate is proud to announce its highest ever number of offers for Oxford and Cambridge Universities. This year, nine students (6 Cambridge, 3 Oxford) successfully navigated a rigorous and challenging application process to gain offers across a range of subjects.
For Cambridge University, Samuel Altass has received an offer to study Economics; Olivia Galvin an offer to study History; Lisa Levytska has received an offer to study Modern and Medieval Languages (French and German); Sophia Liversidge an offer to study History and Politics; Amaan Punnu has received an offer to study Land Economy; and Jency Yan an offer to study Natural Sciences.
For Oxford University, Akshima Ghosh has received an offer to study Medicine; Jenny Petch, an offer to study Law; and Morgan Richardson has received an offer to study Chemistry.
All nine students should be incredibly proud of their achievements, especially this year with the additional logistical challenges posed by the pandemic. Students have needed to remain focused and driven to succeed, engaging with their online learning provision throughout the summer term to ensure they achieved the AS grades needed to support their applications. Since September, they have studied hard to gain the highest scores in admissions tests whilst remaining focused on their challenging schoolwork, and were then faced with the experience of online university interviews, given their inability to visit Oxford or Cambridge in person.
The successful students come from both the boarding and day community, with some having joined Queen Ethelburga’s in the King’s Magna Middle School and others starting in Year 12, a number on Academic Scholarships. Each has earnt this fantastic achievement through hard work and dedication, alongside a passion for learning.
Kevin Oldershaw, Head of Queen Ethelburga’s College, said:
We are incredibly pleased for each of them, as we are for all of our students when they receive offers and go onto take up places at their chosen universities. This success is testament to their academic abilities and the comprehensive programme of support on offer. The combination of our experienced subject teachers and Sixth Form tutor team, alongside the dedicated Careers Department, means that students are helped to identify their strengths and interests, inspired and encouraged to follow their ambitions, and then supported to achieve them.
Students with high aspirations, aiming for the top universities, can also take advantage of QE-appointed admissions consultants, gaining access to additional online and in-person tuition from subject-specific Cambridge and Oxford tutors. This also helps with admission test preparation and small-group meetings to really stretch and challenge the most able.
In an increasingly challenging and competitive process, our provision has really benefitted these and other students, ensuring they complete the wider reading, work experience, internships or extra and super-curricular activities to make their applications really stand out from the crowd!
Speaking of the journey to receiving an Oxbridge offer, student Jenny Petch said, “The process of applying to Oxford was certainly not an easy one; my application required a lot of hard work and preparation (especially as I had to sit an admissions test – the LNAT – in addition to my basic application). However, school offered lots of support throughout the entire admissions process; I was able to access help from teachers and the careers department whenever I needed and this was especially helpful when it came to my personal statement and interview preparation. I am extremely grateful to all the QE staff for the help and support they have given me in the past two years with my application – I couldn’t have done it without them!”
Lisa Levytskya added:
When preparing for the 2020 admissions season, I worked extremely hard to make sure that I prepared myself for all stages of the process – writing a personal statement, practicing interview techniques, and getting ready for the admissions test at Cambridge. In order to make that happen, I’ve committed the entire lockdown period to extra-curricular reading, which let me cover over 40 literature pieces in French & German, discover my topics of interest within each subject, and select materials to include in my personal statement. I also spent 6 months mastering admissions tests and interview techniques!
For more information about studying at QE, visit qe.org
