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Sean Cannon (pictured left), who teaches at Paston College in North Walsham in Norfolk, said that he was taking advantage of an opportunity to learn how he and colleagues could support high-achieving pupils, especially those from backgrounds with little history of going into higher education.

“We’ve brought in a whole range of measures to raise aspirations among our pupils – including working with local universities, assisting pupils to attend visits and open days, one-to-one mentoring, and presentations to parents on the value of a university education. We have some very bright students who should be aiming really high,” he said.

“Last week I brought five pupils who had exceeded their AS predictions to join our high-fliers to see Churchill College, Cambridge. They included one student with a specific learning difficulty that means that he uses a scribe for all his lessons, written work and exams. He’s planning to apply to Cambridge to study history – the visit was a real inspiration to him.”

Tim Whittaker (pictured right), Senior Tutor at Long Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge, said that sessions on the application process had given him some useful pointers in helping students with personal statements and had shown him that students wouldn’t face “trick questions” in their interviews - although they would be intellectually challenged.

“I will now be able to reassure potential applicants that Cambridge interviewers are looking for evidence of passion in applicants’ chosen subjects and a logical approach in tackling questions – and are not going to be setting out to trip students up. ̽��ֱ��prospect of being interviewed can be daunting so knowing that will make a big difference,” he said.

In a panel session chaired by Tom Levinson, Head of Widening Participation at Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO) participants were able to put their questions to Dr Geoff Parks, Director of Admissions for the Cambridge Colleges, Richard Partington, Senior Tutor at Churchill College, and Steve Watts, Admissions Tutor at Homerton College.

Questions ranged from the slant of personal statements when applicants were applying to a range of different courses via UCAS and views on post-qualification applications, through to attitudes to re-takes and the advantages and disadvantages of gap years.

Honor Ridout, FE Access Officer at CAO, said: “We hope that more and more teachers will take advantage of the conferences for teachers, careers and HE advisers that we run on a regular basis. It’s an opportunity for them to find out the truth about Cambridge admissions.”
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