One of our Year 12 students has recently attended an Easter school at Gonville and Cauis ( pronounced keys) College, Cambridge University and shares her thoughts on the experience.

During the Easter holidays I participated in an Easter School at Gonville & Cauis College, Cambridge, which was a great opportunity and one which I thoroughly enjoyed. The course lasted four days in total, and during this time I was able to experience life as a potential Cambridge university student.

Out of the five streams of subjects available I opted to do the literature and language course because it contained a variety of subjects that interested me. This meant that while I was at Cauis I attended a variety of timetabled lectures on topics such as Old English Literature, Poetry and Form, European Literature and Modern Manuscripts with a group of students with similar interests to me. I found this particularly useful because it allowed me to experience the teaching styles used at Cambridge and meet the Fellows in those particular subject areas, whilst also giving me the opportunity to talk to them about the course content of particular degrees in a less formal way. In addition to my subject specific timetable, there were also activities for everyone as a whole. These included talks on studying at Cambridge, careers beyond Cambridge, and general question and answer sessions where we could ask the admissions tutor of Cauis about the admission process, which has provided me with lots of useful information regarding personal statements, interviews, finances and accommodation. Group activities such as punting on the River Cam and films during the evening were also planned, which I really enjoyed because it allowed me to explore the city and meant I had a chance to talk to other prospective applicants and current undergraduate students, most of which I am still in contact with now.

The Easter School has definitely encouraged me to consider Cambridge as one of my choices for an undergraduate degree. Although I have been quite certain about studying at university for a few years now, I hadn’t previously thought about an Oxbridge application as seriously and definitely had not considered particular colleges. I used to believe that it would obviously be beneficial if I did get an offer from such a top university, but now I feel like it is definitely something to aim towards. My experience at Gonville & Cauis has made me more aware of the differences in colleges and universities, but the fact that I enjoyed my time at Cauis so much has made it likely that, if I apply to Cambridge, it will be to this college.