Over 1300 young people in the North East will get the chance to hear the truth about studying at Oxford and Cambridge at the first ever Oxbridge conference to be held in the region.

The 16 and 17-year-olds have travelled to Newcastle United Football Club conference centre today (Friday 1 March 2002) to find out all about applying to Cambridge and Oxford.

The aim is to dispel the myths that surround applying to, and studying at, Cambridge and Oxford and to get the message across to as many people as possible that students from all backgrounds can thrive at Oxbridge.

The seminars are led by Oxbridge tutors and undergraduates. The students will hear about topics such as how to apply to Oxbridge, degree course subjects, interview techniques and financial planning. In addition, organisations including the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Army, Teacher Training Agency, Gap Activity Projects and PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be running seminars on gap year placements and sponsorships that they offer.

This is one of four Oxbridge conferences organised this year around the country. Over 8500 students will be travelling to Manchester United, Cheltenham racecourse and Sandown Park racecourse as well as Newcastle United.

Liz Walker, from Lifetime Careers Ltd, is responsible for organising the Oxbridge conferences and is extremely delighted with this year’s response.

"The demand for places at these conferences show just how well the policy for widening access to these universities is working," she said. "It is the first time that we have used Newcastle United as a venue for this unique conference. Many schools and colleges who have never sent students to Oxbridge before, have booked places at this conference and we hope that students will feel encouraged to explore the possibilities at Oxbridge even further as a result of this conference. Having Newcastle United as the venue for the North East Oxbridge Conference has definitely sent out the right message to young people."

Cambridge’s Director of Admissions, Susan Stobbs, is delighted at the overwhelming response.

"There are no secret rules about getting into Cambridge and we do not have a hidden agenda. We want to get the message across to as many young people as possible that they can apply to Cambridge," she said. "The access conferences are just one of over 60 initiatives run by the University and Colleges to encourage applications from groups, which are, at present, under-represented at Cambridge."

Places at these conferences are free of charge to students and all students will receive a free copy of ‘The Applicant’s Guide to Oxford and Cambridge 2002’.

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