Pembroke and St. Catharine's Colleges Schools Liaison 2013-2014

Pembroke and St. Catharine’s Colleges (Cambridge) Access and Schools Liaison 2013-2014 Welcome back! We are writing to remind you of/introduce you to the work of Pembroke and St. Catharine’s Colleges (University of Cambridge) with students and their teachers in state schools in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Suffolk, Leicester, Luton, Peterborough and the London Borough of Southwark.

Our aims are to widen participation in Higher Education through encouraging aspiration to university study and to encourage application to Cambridge through the provision of information and support for prospective students.

Please find enclosed details of dates for visits to us at Pembroke and St. Catharine’s and information about events hosted by the two Colleges and by the University of Cambridge.

Here at Pembroke and St. Catharine’s, we run annual residential events (such as a KS4 Easter Science Masterclasses, and Summer Residentials) and a number of subject-specific taster days (various year groups and subjects). We also work with the University’s Science Festival and Festival of Ideas teams to run days for schools in conjunction with these outreach events, and with the University of Cambridge Admissions Office.

Please see page 2 for notice of some dates and keep an eye on your inbox/letterbox for further details of events and opportunities taking place later in the year.

We would be grateful if you could pass on this information to any other members of staff in your school/college who would find it useful and may be interested in some of our activities.

Please do be in touch with us (see contact details below) to confirm or update our details for your school (ideally a staff member name and his/her email address), to ensure that we can make the right people in your school/ college aware of the opportunities on offer over the academic year 2013-2014.

We are looking forward to working with you and your students over the year ahead!

Autumn Term College Open Days for Year 12/Year 13 students Pembroke College Open Afternoon - all subjects Saturday 28th September Book via: http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/ prospective-students/ undergraduates/open-days/ St. Catharine’s College Informal tours take place every Saturday in September.

Prospective students should report to the Porters’ Lodge at 2.00pm.

To confirm attendance, email: undergraduate.admissions@caths .cam.ac.uk Both Colleges will be holding multiple Open Days between April 2014 and July 2014. See College websites for details. Booking will open in the new year via the Colleges’ websites.

Laura McGarty Schools Liaison Officer   

01223 765963 ad2@pem.cam.ac.uk http://tinyurl.com/PemCathsSchools

Dates For Your Diary 2013-2014 The Subject Matters (University of Cambridge supported by the Sutton Trust) Saturday 5th October, Saturday 19th October, Saturday 23rd November 2013 Practical and informative sessions for Year 11 students. This event highlights the importance of suitable A-Level (or equivalent) subject choices when considering an application to a top research-led university, and helps students access information to make informed A-Level choices. More information, contact details and online booking are available now at: http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/events/subjectmatters.html

Oxford and Cambridge Student Conferences March 2014 These conferences are designed to provide Year 12 students and their teachers/advisors with up-to-date information on the application and admissions procedure at both institutions as well as to provide an insight into studying and living in Oxford and Cambridge. In addition to the presentations, admissions tutors, academic staff and current undergraduates from both universities will also be on hand to answer students’ questions. The Leicester and London Conferences are likely to be the most accessible to students from the Pembroke and St. Catharine’s Link Areas. See http:// www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/events/studentconferences.html for more details. Booking will open in January via the Conferences website.

Pembroke and St. Catharine’s Colleges Easter Science Masterclass Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th April 2014 Hosted at Pembroke College, and based on over 25 years of highly successful events run by the Chiltern Training Group, the Science Masterclass is for students in Years 10 and 11. It is staffed by qualified teachers and involves an exciting programme of activities designed to encourage the brightest students to further develop their interest in the Sciences.

There is a charge to cover bed and board, with places available free-of-charge to students in receipt of Free School Meals. The Schools Liaison Officer will contact schools with details when applications open.

Pembroke Year 12 Easter Masterclasses 10th, 14th and 15th April 2014 Letters to all schools in our Link Areas will be sent out from the Pembroke College Admissions Office in October, containing details of the events and of how to nominate up to two Year 12 students per Masterclass per school/college for consideration for a place. If you would like an electronic copy of this mailing, please email Laura McGarty, Schools Liaison Officer (see page 1 for details) in October. The subjects covered this year are : Law; History; Philosophy and Theology & Religious Studies; Languages degrees (inc. Linguistics); Physics and Engineering; Biological Sciences and Medicine. These events are free-of-charge, including overnight accommodation for those participants who would otherwise be unable to attend due to journey distance/ time.

Pembroke and St. Catharine’s Colleges Year 12 Summer Residentials July 2014 (provisionally 10th-11th, 17th-18th and 24th-25th) Full details will be made available later in the school year and applications will be open to state-schooled Year 12s. The Summer Residentials include subject-specific seminars and workshops and provide participants with an opportunity to live in St. Catharine’s College and to learn more about the admissions process. These events are free of charge. The Schools Liaison Officer will contact schools with details when applications open in the new year.

Visit Days at Pembroke and St. Catharine’s Colleges Year 10 and Year 11 November: 12th, 13th December: 3rd January: 15th February: 6th May: 1st Year 10 and 11 Visit Days run from 10.00am to 3.15pm.

Years 10 and 11 Visit Days are aimed at students who have the potential to study an academic degree course at a top university such as Cambridge.

Schools may choose to bring Year 10s, Year 11s, or a mixed group.

Year 12 November: 27th, 28th January: 17th February: 4th March: 5th Year 12 visit days run from 10.15am to 2.45pm.

Year 12 Visit Days are aimed at students who are considering making an application to study at Cambridge.

Visit days for Year 10s & 11s include: An Introduction to Higher Education and the University of Cambridge (including information on university courses and applications, student life, finance and careers) “The Subject Matters” (choosing Alevel/equivalent subjects) A College tour, led by undergraduate students Lunch (free of charge) in a College dining hall A College-based academic session or University museum visit Q&A session

Visit days for Year 12s include: An Introduction to the University of Cambridge (with focus on submitting a competitive application) A College tour, led by undergraduate students Lunch (free of charge) in a College dining hall Academic interviews workshop Q&A session

Apply online via: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PemCathsVisitDays2013-2014 Schools can apply for up to 10 student places. Places will be offered on a first-comefirst-served basis.

We also welcome enquiries about shorter visits on other dates. Subject to availability, we can arrange for a member of staff and/or undergraduate student to show groups around the College(s) (45 minutes) and/or offer a short information sessions with time for Q&A (30-45 minutes). These are also open to groups of Year 9 students. Please email Laura McGarty, Schools Liaison Officer on ad2@pem.cam.ac.uk to enquire.

Visits from us to your school/college Our Schools Liaison Officer is able to visit schools to talk to students who are aiming to apply to Cambridge and other competitive universities, but who are unable to make a visit to us. In order to reach as many students as possible, we endeavour to talk to students from more than one school when visiting an area.

For further details and to enquire about a visit, please see: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PemCathsTalks2013-2014 You can apply as a small group of nearby schools, or where possible, the Schools Liaison Officer can match up your request with those from schools in your area, to put together a visit.

CUSU Shadowing Scheme February 2014

University of Cambridge Science Festival Monday 10th to Sunday 23rd March 2014 2014 sees the 20th annual Cambridge Science Festival. It aims to provide the public with opportunities to explore and discuss issues of scientific interest and concern and to raise aspirations by encouraging young people to consider a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. A host of mostly free events, with many suitable for young people will be taking place across the city. Further information available at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/sciencefestival

The Shadowing Scheme is coordinated by the University of Cambridge Student Union (CUSU) and hosted by the University’s Colleges.

Its aim is to give Year 12 students with little or no experience of university a taste of student life at Cambridge, in real time, with real people. The whole trip is funded by CUSU, the University, and the Colleges – all accommodation and food is freeof-charge, and travel costs to and from Cambridge may be reimbursed, on a needs basis.

Applications will open in October.

See http:// www.applytocambridge.com/ shadowing/ for full details.

University of Cambridge events http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/ undergraduate/ for details of other events run by the University of Cambridge including Year 10 Challenge Days, Year 12 Masterclasses, Open Days etc.

Teachers and Advisors http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/ undergraduate/teachers/ for information, presentations and resources from recent teacher/ advisor events, and to subscribe to the termly e-newsletter for updates on events and developments at the University.

More specific support http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/ undergraduate/access/ for information and events for Children in Care, support with STEP mathematics etc.

Degree courses http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/ undergraduate/courses/ for details of the University’s degree courses and their entry requirements.

Cambridge Chemistry Challenge The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge is an innovative webbased competition for chemists led by Dr. Peter Wothers, Director of Studies in Chemistry at St. Catharine’s College. A monthly online challenge, open to anyone, any age, from anywhere in the world will run from November to June. In June there is also a written exam for students in Year 12 attending schools in the UK. See www.c3l6.org for details.

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