Five Blackpool Sixth students celebrate Oxbridge offers

Ashleigh Hamilton is among five Blackpool Sixth students who have recently received the amazing news that they have been offered places at two of the world’s top universities.

Four students have secured offers of places from Cambridge University: Amy Dunn to read history; Sarah Grogan to study economics; Megan Johnstone to read Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic; and Ashleigh Hamilton to read Classics. Oxford University has offered Ben Smith a place to read history.

All of the students said they were delighted and very surprised by the news.

Ashleigh, a former Baines School student, explained the offer of a place at Cambridge is something she has been working towards for several years. She said: “I've wanted to attend Cambridge ever since I got the opportunity to look around one of the colleges when I was 12 and this has been a goal that I've been working towards ever since.”

Amy, a former St George’s School student, said that she really hadn’t expected to get an offer. She added: “I made my parents cry. They never went to university and are extremely proud of me.”

Sarah, who previously attended Montgomery Academy, said that she had been inspired by the example of recent Blackpool Sixth students who have progressed to Oxford or Cambridge. She said: “It showed me that I too could be one of them, and that it wasn’t an unrealistic goal to strive for.”

Achieving an offer of a place at either Cambridge or Oxford means successfully passing through a very demanding selection process, involving interviews and, in many cases, additional entrance exams.

Megan, a former Carr Hill High School student, said that when she started her A levels she had not thought about applying to Cambridge. However, the encouragement of her Ancient History teacher and Excellence Programme co-ordinator, Peter Wright, led her to believe that Cambridge was a possibility for her.

She added: “The Oxbridge preparation sessions were really beneficial, giving a good idea of what the interview would be like. Multiple people checked my personal statements and offered their advice. This was also really beneficial as were opportunities to have meetings with people who are specialists in areas of the subjects to which we were applying.”

All five students are now getting ready for their A level exams inspired by the prospect of progressing to their chosen universities.

Ben, a former St George's School student, said: “I'm really looking forward to the independence of living at university and the high-intensity teaching and learning as well as the kaleidoscope of people I'll meet.”

The students are part of the Excellence Programme at Blackpool Sixth which provides subject-based and extra-curricular activities and support for academic high-fliers. The programme includes specific help with the application and selection processes for the most prestigious universities.

Mr Wright added: “We are immensely proud of the students in gaining these incredibly competitive offers - they all worked tremendously hard in preparing for various admission tests and interviews. The Excellence Programme at Blackpool Sixth has a proven track record in providing a platform for students in making strong applications to world-class institutions, such as Cambridge and Oxford.”