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Outreach Hub

For Teachers

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Teachers play a vital role in encouraging students to apply to Cambridge. We look for the best and brightest students each year. We’re interested in academic potential, not in a student’s background.

Sometimes students think that they are not good enough to study at Cambridge, or that they will not fit in there. The various myths about Cambridge are almost always untrue, but they can seriously affect a student’s decision about whether or not to apply. They shouldn’t put your pupils off applying to the University, or put you off encouraging them.

Teacher FAQs

Here are some of the questions and answers that we are often asked by teachers. We are always happy to hear from you and are keen to support your work to give every child the best possible chance when applying to a highly selective university. If you have any other questions, contact Tom at: schools.liaison@trin.cam.ac.uk.

My school/college is in your link area, what opportunities are available to us?

Trinity’s link areas are Hampshire, Milton Keynes and the Isle of Wight. All of our outreach events are available to state schools in those areas. You can, of course, participate in any of the other opportunities available at Trinity as well, such as our residentialsessay prizesLitmus Project and the Open Days. All schools in our link areas are welcome to request a visit as part of our schools tours.

In addition, HE+ Hampshire is a collaborative project set up by the University of Cambridge in several regions of the UK. It is designed to help schools and colleges to share best practice in supporting and challenging their brightest Year 12 students with extension activities and materials, and to create an atmosphere in which students can support each other in raising their academic attainment and aspirations. You can find out more about HE+ Hampshire here.

My school/college is not in your link area – what opportunities are available to us?

You can apply to any of our outreach programmes  – we are delighted to make links with as many schools as possible, so please do contact us and get involved with our events, regardless of where you are in the country. Alternatively, you can contact your link college to see if they offer anything specific for your part of the UK. Do get in touch if you would like to subscribe to our twice-termly newsletter promoting events and opportunities relating to the University of Cambridge.

I am new to advising Oxbridge applications – how do I find out more?

The University of Cambridge offers a number of events aimed specifically at advising teachers. If you have any questions about Cambridge, Trinity, our courses or the application process, our Admissions Team are here to help.

I advise year 11s on A level choices – how do I help them make the right decisions for them?

Every student is different, and it’s important that they take their time to make the right decision for them. The most important decision they will make in their University career is which subject they will study at University, and in some cases the decisions they make at the end of GCSE can affect which opportunities are left open to them when they reach the end of sixth-form. The Subject Matters events and resources provide guidance on advising prospective Cambridge students, and the Russell Group have created a website which provides more general advice on A level choices for competitive university applications. We at Trinity are happy to help in any way we can – please do get in touch if you have any questions.

What type of students should I be encouraging to apply to Cambridge?

At Cambridge we are looking for academically able students who are passionate about their subject with the potential to excel in the teaching environment we offer. Our typical offers (depending on the course applied for) are A*AA/A*A*A, so if you have a student who looks like they might achieve this, we want to hear from them! We are looking for students with the potential to flourish at Cambridge and who have a strong interest in their subject. There is no particular ‘type’ of student we are looking for and we are not looking for ‘well-rounded’ applicants (irrelevant extracurricular activities are not considered in our application process).

Be careful not to exclude from your cohort of Cambridge candidates those who have not performed that well in their GCSEs. Here at Cambridge, we don’t have any GCSE requirements and some of our best students are those who didn’t show their full potential until they reached A level/IB age. Students on an upward trajectory should be encouraged to think about Cambridge as much as the high-fliers who have been excelling at school from a young age – remember, it is potential that we are looking for, as much as academic achievement.

If you have an applicant whose paper application does not match their potential for reasons beyond their control, we also want to hear about that through our Extenuating Circumstances Form, so we can put their application in the proper context.

What can I do to stretch my academically able students?

In terms of extra-curricular activities, we are only interested in those that are relevant to the subject your student is applying to study with us. However, super-curricular activities are really helpful for prospective students – largely so they can confirm their own interest in their subject, and find out what really fascinates and excites them. This includes reading beyond the A Level curriculum, listening to podcasts, watching documentaries, undertaking relevant projects or visiting places of interest connected to their chosen field of study. Super-curricular exploration should therefore be led by your students’ own interests, but there are a number of ways you can help them with this. Cambridge University runs a number of Summer Schools, Challenge Days and HE events, and Trinity offers a number of essay competitions, all of which are great ways of encouraging supra-curricular explorations with a bit of structure. A number of Cambridge colleges tweet super-curricular resources under the #ExploreYourSubject hashtag. Year 12s may also make use of the University of Cambridge bank of super-curricular resources.

Which is better – A levels or the IB?

The answer to this really depends on the student in question. Some students prefer the breadth of the IB, and others prefer the depth offered by A levels – here at Cambridge, we don’t have a preference, and consider applicants from both qualification systems equally, on their own merits. The typical conditional offers for students taking A levels (A*AA-A*A*A) and the IB (42, with marks of 7 in relevant Higher Level subjects) are set following research by the University which indicates that students who achieve these typical offers go on to perform similarly at Cambridge. Most people who are set an offer go on to meet, and indeed exceed it. It is also worth pointing out that these are only typical offers and all offers are set on a case-by-case basis, in light of the candidate’s circumstances, performance and academic profile. Some people may receive less strict offer and others may receive stiffer offers.

Should my students take the EPQ?

The EPQ is not currently typically used as part of a conditional offer at Cambridge, but this isn’t to say it’s not useful and we don’t notice it. The EPQ is a great opportunity for students to explore something about their favourite subject in depth, to foster their own passion for that subject and to practise the kind of independent study they would be expected to undertake at university. It can also be a topic for discussion during interviews, giving us the chance to have an academic discussion with your student about a topic they are familiar with and excited about.

What is step? How can I help my students prepare?

The Sixth Term Examination Paper in mathematics is used as part of conditional offers in Mathematics (including Mathematics with Physics). The papers are designed to be substantially more challenging than A levels. Candidates are advised to obtain past papers for practice, and it is hoped they will be able to obtain assistance from their teachers or the AMSP. We do not expect candidates to receive extensive additional teaching for STEP, and ask applicants to indicate how much additional support their school is able to give on the SAQ, so we can allocate support appropriately. The Faculty of Mathematics offers a range of resources to help students prepare for STEP.

Additionally, the Mathematics interview is preceded by a one-hour written test and the candidate’s attempts at the problems in the test form the basis of much of the discussion in the interview itself. Some specimen questions are available here.

Is there a similar FAQ for students?

FAQs for applicants and offer-holders can be found on our applicant FAQ page.

Programmes

The following programmes are designed for teachers or for teachers to accompany their students. Teachers can sign up to our Mailing List to stay up-to-date with upcoming events and opportunities for you and your students. There is useful information on the teachers’ section of the Cambridge website, and our Open Days are a great way to find out more about Cambridge.

Subject Passion as a Teaching Tool

Subject Passion as A Teaching Tool

Ongoing / Online

In partnership between World Class Schools Quality Mark (WCSQM) and Trinity, this programme aims to work with teachers to frame the A Level curriculum content in the context of studying the subject at university.

Stonehouse Residential

STONEHOUSE VIRTUAL RESIDENTIAL (Incoming Y11)

20TH – 24TH SEPTEMBER

The virtual Stonehouse Residential 2021 aims to replicate the detailed focus on teacher and student engagement that is at the core of the in-person programme. Selected schools will be eligible to nominate a class of Year 11 students to receive a day of bespoke talks and raising aspiration activities in late September. Students and the accompanying teacher will need to be off-timetable for the duration of the day that the school is involved.

TRINITY REMOTE OUTREACH

Ongoing / Online

For the upcoming academic year, Trinity College will be offering our link schools (Hampshire, Milton Keynes and Isle of Wight) a package of bookable online outreach sessions designed for students and teachers that can be delivered remotely in a safe and flexible manner at no cost to the schools.

ADVANCING ACCESS

Advancing Access is a partnership between 24 leading universities working with schools and colleges to support students’ progression to leading universities. Trinity College provides free high-quality resources, online and offline CPD conferences, CPD sessions delivered in schools and colleges and a regularly updated blog. We support teachers and careers advisers to guide young people who are making their key stage 4, key stage 5 and university choices.

Teach First

For over 15 years Teach First have been helping schools build a fair education for all. By developing the next generation of great teachers and brilliant leaders and by growing a powerful network of talented people committed to change.

Trinity College is funding up to 12 bursaries over the next 3 years 2021-2024 to Teach First participants from Trinity College (undergraduate, postgraduate or graduate) who start the Teach First Summer Institute.

WHAT OUR TEACHERS SAY...

A highly engaging, interesting and relevant talk. I can’t wait to take the subject passion  that poured out from this session back to the classroom.

Useful links and resources

  • Trinity’s Access and Outreach YouTube – A playlist of videos recorded by Trinity College to support students considering applying to the University of Cambridge.
  • Personal Statements Guide – The Cambridge Students’ Union released a useful guide to writing a Personal Statement, breaking down a lot of the misconceptions applicants (and sometimes teachers) have about writing a Personal Statement for Cambridge.
  • www.applytocambridge.com – This is the University’s Alternative Prospectus, written by the students, rather than by the staff. It contains a student perspective on each course and college, as well as information that you won’t find in the official prospectus (for instance, how much a drink in the bar costs, how many hours of work you get per week, and so on).
  • Super-curricular suggestions – A selection of suggested reading lists and resources compiled in one handy document. These lists are NOT ‘required reading’ for Cambridge applicants. They simply provide some suggestions for places to start exploring your own interests in your chosen subject independently.
  • Ask-A-Student – This service is run by CUSU (Cambridge University Students Union). You can send a message to the page and it will be passed on to a current Cambridge Student, who will respond to you. You can ask about anything; what the food is like at a particular college, what it’s like to learn a language from scratch, whether a particular society exists for an interest you might have, and so on.
  • InsideUni – A student-led project with application advice from Cambridge students including a database of interview experiences
  • HE+ is an access initiative run by Cambridge University to promote access to Higher Education. You’ll find online resources for a variety of subjects as well as useful additional reading and information for people interested in applying for courses at Cambridge.
  • The Russell Group Website – Guidance for students from the Russell Group (24 of the UK’s top Universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Edinburgh, UCL and many more)
  • Cambridge Societies Directory – Wondering what societies and clubs you can get involved in at the University? Check out this list of over 700 societies on offer for our students!

You might be interested in:

Open Days 2021

University Teacher Pages

Preferred A Levels

Area Link Scheme

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Our Parents and Students newsletter is packed full of useful advice on applying to university, plus details of upcoming events and other handy resources from Trinity and the wider University.

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