Birmingham pupils get a flavour of life at Cambridge

Several high-achieving minority ethnic students from state schools in Birmingham are keen to apply to Cambridge following a visit to Newnham College earlier this week.

The visit was organised to give year-12 pupils students from three schools - King Edward Camp Hill School (Girls), George Dixon International School and Small Heath School - more information about the University and to encourage them to aim high in terms of higher education.

It was organised and funded by the government initiative, Birmingham AimHigher, in conjunction with Newnham College, which works closely with state schools in Birmingham and surrounding area. Year-ten pupils from Swanshurst School, John Wilmott School, and Harborne Hill School visited Newnham earlier this month.

The pupils were given a series of presentations about Cambridge, including advice on how to write the personal statements on their university application forms, and a run-down of what to expect in interviews. They also had a chance to talk informally to undergraduates currently studying at Newnham.

Among pupils keen to apply to Cambridge is Shazia Begum, 18, from Small Heath School. She arrived with her family from Dubai to live in Birmingham a year ago, and is already achieving excellent grades. Neither of her parents went to university: her father is a tyre fitter and her mother a housewife.

"I want to study medicine at Cambridge, because the facilities are excellent and the teaching style is great," she said, "It's been really hard starting life in a new country and making friends at a new school, but my whole family are behind me."

Fellow pupil Abdullahi Cabdullahi, also 18, said he was interested in studying architecture at Cambridge. He already speaks four languages - his native Somali, as well as Norwegian, Arabic and English - and has recently begun to learn Japanese.

Abdullahi came to Birmingham from Yemen 18 months ago. His mother is a teacher in Birmingham, and his father is a school caretaker in Norway. "At first my school grades were poor because I had moved countries, but now they are improving I am determined to go to a top university," he said.

Rachel Berry, 17, who is taking the International Baccalaureate at George Dixon International School, is planning to apply to Cambridge to study law, which has interested her since she was small. She is pictured above (second from right), sitting in the new buttery at Newnham College.

"What I like about Cambridge is the atmosphere and the surroundings. Because the university is divided into colleges, it makes studying more personal. I would like to be at one of the women-only colleges, like Newnham," she said.

Karen Daniels, the teacher accompanying the George Dixon pupils, said that the visit had given the pupils an insight into the Cambridge experience, and had shown them how Cambridge differed from other Russell Group universities.

Dr Ute Stock, Admissions Tutor at Newnham College, said she was impressed by the attitude of the Birmingham pupils - and the speed with which they assimilated information about Cambridge.

"It was great to see the high level of enthusiasm. They really used the opportunity to find out more. They asked very mature questions about the applications process, for example," she said.

"We hope that the experience of spending the day here helps to motivate them as they begin the second year of A levels."