T RINITY ’ S T OP T EN O UTREACH S UGGESTIONS
We’d like to wish you a (belated) happy New Year from the Trinity Admissions Office!
We hope you all had a relaxing break over Christmas and hope to see many of you –
either at your schools or colleges or in Cambridge – in 2012.
Now that our busy admissions period is over, we’ll be able to organise more Outreach
visits, including Myth-busting sessions on Cambridge and the Russell Group Universities
and more focussed workshops on choosing A-levels, undergradua te courses and
universities, writing personal statements and preparing for interviews - so please get in
touch with Rosie at SC HO O L S . LI AI SO N @ T RI N . C AM . A C . U K if you’d like to get involved.
In the meantime, here are a few suggestions of Outreach initiatives that your students
may find helpful. Many of the events below are targeted at Year 12 students, so won’t
be relevant to those of you working at 11 -16 schools – apologies! We are always happy
to work wit h younger students so let us know if we can visit your school or if you would
like to come to Cambridge.
1. A-L EV E L S U B JE C T C HO I C ES
Some of your Year 11 students may still be agonising over their post-16 subject choices! One of the most significant barriers to a
successful application to Cambridge and other selective universities can be the choice of subjects or qualifications: as well as
achieving A*AA at A-level, students applying to Cambridge need to have selected a suitable combination of subjects, particularly
for entrance to science courses.
The Russell Group Universities publish a useful booklet, “Informed Choices”, which recommends that academically able students
consider choosing a core of ‘facilitating subjects’ from Maths, Further Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English Literature,
History, Geography and Foreign Languages. “Informed Choices” can be downloaded here: www.russellgroup.ac.uk/informedchoices.aspx
If students are thinking of applying to Cambridge, they may also want to consult “Subject Matters” which gives brief information
on acceptable A-level combinations: it can be downloaded, along with other University publications, at the bottom of the page
here: www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/publications/
2. C A M BRI D G E M U SI C T A S T E R D AY S
Prospective applicants and keen musicians in Year 11 or 12 are invited to experience Music at Cambridge in special Music Taster
Days to be held in February and March. These will include workshops on Harmony and Composition, as well as taster lectures
and the opportunity to meet current Cambridge undergraduates. Up to ten students from each school can attend, and the
sessions are designed for academically able students on track to achieve at least 5 A/A* in their GCSEs. For students considering
studying Music at University, e-mentoring from current Cambridge Music students is also available.
For further details and an application form, see: http://outreach.mus.cam.ac.uk/secondary-schools-and-colleges and if you have
any questions please contact Ruth Hardie on outreach@mus.cam.ac.uk or 01223 768927.
3. E SS AY C O MP ET I T I O N S
This is the perfect time of year to encourage year 12 students to enter one of the many essay competitions run by Cambridge
and other universities.
It’s not the winning that matters (although there are some hefty cash prizes available, often split between the applicant and
their school!). Writing a substantial, properly footnoted essay on a subject outside their AS syllabus is a perfect extension
exercise for talented students and a great way to kick-start the wider reading and exploration that’s essential for a strong
application to selective universities. Shortlisted candidates are often invited to visit the University to meet students and
lecturers, which is also a good opportunity to de-mystify the application process.
Here are some of the competitions which are now open for 2012 entries, arranged in order of their deadlines:

St John’s College, Oxford, has a competition in Classics which encourages entries from students who have not studied
Classics or Ancient History in school before. One of the intriguing questions is: “We must go wherever the argument,
like a wind, carries us.” (Plato). If there appears to be a compelling argument for something, should we always believe
it? The deadline is February 10th, and details can be found here: www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/3086/Classics-amp;-Ancient-HistoryEssay-Competition

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, also has a Classics Prize with a deadline of March 1st; see the website for further
details: www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/about-corpus/newstest/937-classics-essay-competition

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, has essay prizes in Classics and Land Economy. Land Economy is an unusual course
offered at Cambridge which includes aspects of Law, Conservation and Economics, and the essay questions invite
students to explain the global impact of a figure like Steve Jobs or Bob Geldof. The deadline is March 2nd and details can
be found at: www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/admissions/essay-competitions

Christ Church College, Oxford, runs the Christopher Tower Poetry Competition, which is on the theme of “Voyages” this
year. The top prize is £3000, the deadline is March 2nd and further information, as well as previous winning entries for
inspiration, can be found at: www.towerpoetry.org.uk/voyages-2012

Girton College, Cambridge, has a really unusual Humanities Writing Competition, which accepts creative writing entries
as well as conventional essays. It will be of interest to students thinking of studying Archaeology, Anthropology, Ancient
History or Classics, History or Heritage Studies as entrants are asked to take one of six objects from the College’s
antiquities museum, including an Egyptian mummy and a Greek dog figurine, and use it as a starting point for an essay,
story or poem. The deadline is March 16th and details, including images and descriptions of the objects, can be found
here: www.girton.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduates/humanities-writing-competition

Peterhouse College, Cambridge, runs essay competitions in History, Science and English – each with top prizes of £500
and a deadline of March 23rd. Full details can be found at: www.pet.cam.ac.uk/prospective-students/essay-prizes

Science students needn’t feel left out: Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, has a Schools Science Prize and the questions
this year are on stem cells for Biochemistry and isotopes for Chemistry. Entries should be received by March 30th and
details can be found here: www.ccc.ox.ac.uk/schools-science-prize

Newnham College, Cambridge has an unusual essay prize, open to girls only. The questions are based around quotes
from Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, and will be of particular interest to girls studying English Literature,
History, Politics, Philosophy or Sociology as the questions touch on the originality of literature, political opposition and
women’s liberation. The deadline is April 24th, and further details can be found at: www.newn.cam.ac.uk/joiningnewnham/undergraduate-admissions/school-liaison-initiative

St Peter’s College, Oxford, runs a Philosophy essay prize. The questions this year are: “Can science tell us about
morality?” and “Must we always act to prevent harm?” Entries must be received by September 14th and details can be
found at: www.spc.ox.ac.uk/text/307/year_12_lower_6th.html
4. S UT T O N T R U ST S U M M E R S C HO O LS
The Sutton Trust is now accepting applications for its popular residential Summer Schools for Year 12 students, held at
Cambridge, Bristol, Durham, Imperial, Nottingham and UCL. This year they have expanded their programme, with 1000 places
available to students from non-privileged backgrounds who might not otherwise consider applying to Russell Group Universities.
Information on the Cambridge summer schools can be found here:
www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/year12summerschools/ and applications can be made at the Sutton Trust’s website:
www.suttontrust.com/summer-schools/
5. O X FO RD
AN D
C A MB R I D G E S T U D EN T C O N F ER E N C E S
Booking is now open for these large-scale free conferences for Year 12 students and their teachers in late March. Sessions will
cover how to make a competitive application, student finance, introductions to Oxford and Cambridge and subject-specific
presentations. Places at the conferences are limited to 35 Year 12 students and four teachers per school/college, and they do
book up quickly, so apply now at: www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/oxbridgeconference/index.html
6. S UB J E CT M A ST E R C L AS S ES
Cambridge subject masterclasses offer academically able Year 12 students a real taste of Cambridge undergraduate teaching
with sample lectures, as well as an introduction to applying to the University and a chance to chat to current undergraduates.
Schools and colleges can book several places, at a subsidised cost of £10 per student for the day. There are also a number of free
places for students who receive Discretionary Learner Support, Looked-after Children and those from families in receipt of
Income Support.
Booking is now open for the first eight of these one day events which take place on Saturdays in February and March and cover
Law, Biochemistry, History, Maths, English, Engineering, Sociology and Chemistry:
www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/masterclasses/index.html
7. P HY SI CS T EA C H ER S C A M BR I D GE
R ESI D EN T I A L
From June 30th - July 2nd 2012 the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge will host a free physics residential course for teachers.
Registration is now open and places fill up quickly. To book a place, email Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright with your name, school, school
address, email and phone number at ljw21@cam.ac.uk.
For more information, see: www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk/Teacher-Res/
Cambridge also runs the Senior Physics Challenge, a residential Summer School for Year 12 students studying Physics and
Maths: see details here: www-spc.phy.cam.ac.uk/
Booking for this event will open soon after the end of January, but you can register your email address now to receive details on
booking arrangements as soon as they go live: www-spc.phy.cam.ac.uk/registrationteacher.html
8. E- M EN T O RI N G
The deadline for this year’s Cambridge shadowing scheme has now passed, but Year 12 students considering applying to
Cambridge can still apply for our e-mentoring scheme. The Cambridge Admissions Office will do their best to match students
who are interested in a particular subject up with an undergraduate studying the same course, so that they can exchange emails
and useful advice. This scheme has a rolling application process so you can apply throughout the year.
Email Rosie at schools.liaison@trin.cam.ac.uk for a booking form.
9. B E C AM B RI D G E . CO M
If your students are considering Cambridge (or you feel that they should be!), I would suggest directing them to the new
microsite aimed at young people: www.becambridge.com
Prospective applicants often don’t realise that six out of ten Cambridge students are from state schools, and one in five people
who apply are offered a place. There are some new blogs up from current students at Cambridge, as well as short videos demystifying the stages of the application process.
10. T E A CH E R S ’ C O N F ER E N C E
IN
H A MP S HI RE
Good news: we’ve got a date and a venue for our one-day teachers’ conference in Hampshire: it will take place on Tuesday July
10th at Barton Peveril Sixth Form College in Eastleigh. So please save the date, and we’ll be in touch with the conference
programme and booking details in the near future.
As always, please email Rosie at S C HO O L S . LI AI SO N @ T RI N . C A M . A C . UK if you would like to
organise a school visit. You, your colleagues and your students should also feel free to
email with any questions about applying to Cambridge – I can do my best to answer any
queries, and refer questions on to the Admissions Tutor if necessary.