The excitement of discovery Cambridge style

This is the annual GEEMA (Group for Encouraging Ethnic Minority Applications) Summer School.

With the help of Mark Copestake, GEEMA Coordinator and History of Art graduate, they begin to unravel some of the stories and symbolism contained in the picture, volunteering their interpretations of some of the intriguing details to be seen around the main figures.

These sixth-formers are on the final day of a five-day GEEMA programme run for high-achieving ethnic minority pupils interested in learning more about life at Cambridge. Their varied programme has included an introduction to cancer biosensors and an overview of the political theory of Margaret Thatcher, with social activities in the evenings at Newnham College, which has been their base for the week.

Most of these young people come from inner cities and have never been to Cambridge before. Many are the first generation in their families to be going into higher education. Gurdhit Panesar, a pupil at Heston Community College in Hounslow, says the summer school has been a fantastic opportunity to sample life at Cambridge.

“I want to study medicine and my school is really good at encouraging us to apply for schemes like this. There’s a lot to learn about Cambridge as it’s so different from most universities. Among the best things are the college system and the number of things you can get involved with,” he says.

Among the students’ chief concerns is how quickly they might find their feet within a new environment if they got a place. “After spending a week here I know that fitting in at Cambridge would not be a problem,” says Shereen Walker, who goes to Highfield Specialist Science School in Wolverhampton.

“I was over the moon when I learnt that I had a place on the summer school, dancing with joy in fact, but I was a bit nervous that everyone else would be so brilliant that I would feel thick. In fact, there are loads of people who are really just like me – just normal.”

The GEEMA summer school was significantly oversubscribed with roughly five applicants for every place. “We carry out the selection process with huge care and make it clear that those we cannot offer places to must not see this in any way as a deterrent from applying to the University,” says Mark.

“We’ve been really encouraged by the enthusiasm of this year’s group who represent a huge diversity in terms of ethnicity, family background, educational career and subject interest.”

Eight current Cambridge undergraduates and three residential supervisors are helping with the programme as mentors, several of them from ethnic minorities themselves.

Among the Cambridge student helpers is Kaunain Nurani, an officer with Cambridge University Students’ Union and an English student at Newnham College. “I’ve found it a very moving experience to be helping to welcome these students and answer their questions. That’s because I have a similar background to many of them,” she says.

“I come from a less advantaged area of South London and I had the same kind of concerns about fitting in at Cambridge. Those who are Muslim have been asking me about the social life at Cambridge for students who don’t drink alcohol, and also how my parents have coped with me going away to university.”

One of the most visibly enthusiastic summer school students is Marcus Hunter, who is doing his A-levels at Four Dwellings High School in Birmingham. He is using the summer school to get a taste of the learning experience at Cambridge, and the law course in particular. “I’m one of those people who really love learning and working hard,” he says.

“You can never know everything and there’s no limit to it. I feel that Cambridge offers the kind of atmosphere where you could learn and the kind of teaching that would suit me as it’s a place where you have a relationship with those who are teaching you. I’ve always got on really well with my teachers.”

It was apparent that for many of these students the ancient buildings and immaculate college lawns that typify Cambridge for visitors are far from a deterrent. In fact, they relish the chance to spend three or four years in a setting that one student describes as “pretty, traditional and historic – another culture completely from the one I live in.”

“I love the sense of history and tradition at Cambridge, how the different colleges are spaced out within the town. It’s very different from where I live, which makes it really exciting,” says Marcus.

Read Marcus’s diary of his Cambridge experience later this week.

STOP PRESS: Teachers and higher education education/careers advisers interested in learning more about the Cambridge applications procedure, including recent changes, are invited to book places for an HE Advisers’ Conference on 23-24 September. For information visit the link at the sidebar.