INTOUNIVERSITY LEARNING CENTRE
IntoUniversity Learning Centre Queens’ donors have generously funded the renovation of a safe space that will be used to support young students from as young as eight when applying for university. This is the first standalone centre funded by a College in the UK. On an evening in April, we celebrated the launch of the new IntoUniversity Learning Centre in Bradford. The Senior Tutor, Dr Andrew Thompson, made a speech to gathered alumni and supporters. IntoUniversity is a charity that works with young people based in areas where they’re statistically unlikely to go to university. The centre will provide young people with additional academic support, mentoring, and programmes to aid them in attaining a place at their chosen university. The centre hopes to inspire them to consider Cambridge as an option they may not have beforehand, regardless of their socio-economic background. Our Bradford Schools Liaison Officer, Siân Bex, tells us about her hopes for this centre. My Role… My role entails working with students in Bradford to give them information on Cambridge. This might be dispelling myths that have warned them off, supporting them throughout the application process, or preparing them for interviews. I speak with 10 THE BRIDGE
sixth-form students and younger year groups to float the idea from a young age. In Bradford, most young people will go to university 40 miles from home and there are at least 20 universities nearby, such as Leeds, Manchester, or Huddersfield. So why contemplate Cambridge? We want to show people that it is an option for them to consider rather than disregard it straight away. Widening participation at Queens’… Within the last ten years, the work that Queens’ has done has made a difference for accessibility, but it’s still a slow-moving process. It comes down to financial income, geography, and that
some people may not understand the benefit of putting time into Cambridge. In many cases, it’s not a consideration until you speak to people directly. We work to show younger students that people at Cambridge don’t have two heads to get them to consider it as an option. A former student, Rebekah Hinton (2017), only applied after speaking to our previous Liaison Officer, despite being told she shouldn’t bother by her school. Rebekah excelled at Cambridge and won a prize in her year group. By continuing talking to young individuals, then we can make them passionate about studying here. Sometimes secondary schools
