College celebrates Cambridge connection
Seven students from Gower College Swansea have been offered places to study at Cambridge University this year.
They are:
- Claire Hill (formerly Bishopston Comprehensive) who will read History of Art at King’s College
- Isabel Davies (Pontarddulais Comprehensive) who will read Veterinary Medicine at Downing College
- Martha O’Neil (Ysgol Maes Y Gwendraeth) who will read Human, Social & Political Sciences at Trinity College
- Mollie Thomas (Bishopston Comprehensive) who will read English at Girton College
- Elan Daniels (Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth) who will read Veterinary Medicine at Downing College
- Marie-Julie Cnudde (Ysgol Bryngwyn) who will read Medicine at King’s College
- Jonathan Phillips (Gowerton School) who will read Mathematics St Catharine’s
“I’m delighted that, once again, we’ve had such a successful year in terms of our students applying to – and being accepted by - the top universities around the UK,” says the college’s Oxbridge Tutor Felicity Padley. “Since 2013, 26 students have progressed from Gower College Swansea to Oxford and Cambridge, and almost 600 have successfully applied for top Russell Group Universities around the UK.”
Gower College Swansea, at the invitation of and in collaboration with, the University of Cambridge, is the “hub” institution in the Swansea HE+ Consortium, working with the seven state sixth-form schools in the area.
“HE+ aims to help students develop academic skills and inspire them to aim as high as possible when making university choices,” adds Felicity. “Students on the HE+ programme, and there are over 250 at the moment, attend monthly extension classes after college on post-syllabus academic content and have the chance to apply for visits to explore the University of Cambridge and its constituent colleges.”
“We’ve been delighted to learn that a good number of students from our school partners who attended HE+ in the last academic year have also received offers from Oxford, Cambridge and other Russell Universities,” says Gower College Swansea Principal Mark Jones. “We congratulate all these students, their teachers and schools, and wish them well for the future.”
The ‘Cambridge connection’ doesn’t end there. The Gorseinon campus recently hosted a special lunch for students who have been selected to attend courses at the Villiers Park Educational Trust. Villiers Park helps young people to develop a passion for learning and the study / life skills to ensure they reach their full academic potential.
“Every year, many of our A Level students attend these courses in topics ranging from forensic science through Shakespeare to quantum mechanics,” says Felicity. “We wanted to host an event that celebrated these students’ success and also demonstrated how much we value the opportunities that the Villiers Park partnership provides. Villiers Park is very keen that, when students return to their schools and colleges, they are given the opportunity to share some of their new knowledge and skills with other students. During the lunch, we discussed how this might work and there were many interesting suggestions such as the establishment of a Politics Club where students can discuss and debate political topics which interest them.”
Main photo L-R: Mark Jones; Marie-Julie; Martha; Claire; Elan; Isabel; Felicity Padley (photo: Chris Costello.)