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Forty-four young people from nine different schools are taking part in an Easter residential run by Aimhigher Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the regional arm of a national initiative that aims to raise aspirations. All in year 11, the majority of participants come from families where there is no history of higher education; and all have been identified by their teachers as having the potential to succeed academically.

Running for four days and based at Newnham College, the programme aims to give them a taste of undergraduate study and student life both at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� and Anglia Ruskin ̽��ֱ�� – with nine current Cambridge students acting as mentors. ̽��ֱ��timetable includes plenty of opportunities to enjoy the social scene at Cambridge - bowling, punting, and a disco – as well as more serious sessions looking at the learning opportunities open to them.

This afternoon’s challenge has begun with a talk by engineer Dr Geoff Parks introducing them to some basic bridge structures to encourage them think about some of the principles of engineering. ̽��ֱ��task of the teams is to construct a range of bridges – such as beam, suspension and trussed - using simple materials. ̽��ֱ��results will be put to the test at the end of the day to see which team has achieved the strongest and most aesthetically pleasing constructions.

Jack Relph, who goes to Sir Harry Smith Community College in Whittlesey and is busy with a glue gun, has never visited Cambridge before. He says that the programme is giving him a much better idea of what university might be like and the range of courses on offer. “ ̽��ֱ��university very different to how I imagined – I thought it would be one big place, a bit like a school, but it’s scattered around the town.”

It’s also a first trip to Cambridge for Qurratulain Sabbah, from Jack Hunt School in Peterborough – who is bending cardboard into a tubular shape. She’s interested in studying medicine and her first impressions of Cambridge are all positive. “ ̽��ֱ��university is old, which means there’s lots of experience here, but it also has modern technology and facilities,” she says.

“It’s been fantastic to watch the group grow in confidence over the week,” said Matt Diston, Aimhigher Co-ordinator at Cambridge Admissions Office. “When they first arrived they were very nervous to be entering a new world. Once they relaxed, they took up the challenges provided with enthusiasm. By the final day they were sad to be leaving and several of them said they would have liked the programme to have been five days – regardless of the bank holiday.”

Meanwhile, Kathryn Betts, from Sir Harry Smith, is enjoying the chance to get to grips with some fun practical tasks – something she hasn’t done for a long time with GCSEs coming up this summer. And Shahid Iqbal, from Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough, has only one mission in his mind – to make the “biggest, strongest and best” bridge in the room.
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