Pupils on a nationwide programme designed to raise aspirations among groups under-represented at Russell Group universities spent the day at Cambridge yesterday, getting a feel for the college structure.

The 35 pupils, who came from London, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Luton are all members of the educational charity, Excell3. An initiative that has absorbed and expanded the existing scheme Black Boys Can, Excell3 was launched last summer and works with three universities – Cambridge, Imperial College London and Warwick.

“The pupils we’ve brought to Cambridge today are some of the 50 students on Wise, a new four-year programme that works with schools to identify young people who are academically able but may need extra support to apply to competitive universities,” explained Dr Charon Byfield, chairperson of Excell3.

The group began the day by looking at perceptions of Cambridge – both myth and reality – and then went on to explore some of the colleges in groups led by Cambridge undergraduates on the University of Cambridge Ambassadors Programme (UCAP). They included Matthew Green (pictured centre), a first year English student at Wolfson whose enthusiasm for sharing Cambridge was undimmed by having been up till 4 am finishing his latest essay.

For many of the visiting pupils the notion of a collegiate university was new – and Cambridge was surprisingly modern and diverse. “It looks old on the outside, but inside it’s modern,” said Rebekah Jackson, 15, who goes to Henley High School in Warwickshire.

When asked whether any of them were actively thinking about applying to Cambridge in a few years’ time, Kulvinder Dhillon, 16, (pictured third from right) from Heath Park High School in Wolverhampton shot his hand in the air first. “I’d like to study economics here as I’m interested in the credit crunch and I’m already running my own business. To be able to put Cambridge University on your CV would be great as it’s known worldwide,” he said.

Chanel Groce, 16, (far right) a pupil at King’s School, also in Wolverhampton, put it more simply. “Of course we all want to come to Cambridge if we can – it’s the best,” she said.

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