Telford students experience science at Cambridge

GCSE students from Telford, Shropshire, visited Cambridge today to learn about studying science at university.  

Students from Thomas Telford school in Telford, Shropshire, came to Cambridge today to experience what it is like to study science at university.

The group of around fifteen Year 9 students visited St John’s College to get a taste of how Natural Science is taught at Cambridge, and learn about Higher Education options.

The visit, organised by the St John’s Admissions Office, was intended to encourage young people currently studying for their GCSE exams to look ahead and consider Cambridge when making their university choices.

The students got the chance to hear lectures on topics as diverse as the physics of light and colour and the chemistry of metal alloys, delivered in university lecture theatres by world-class academics and researchers, before having a behind-the-scenes tour of St John’s where they got to see student accommodation, the College library and student facilities.

Access Officer Megan Goldman-Roberts, herself a Cambridge graduate, held a workshop for the group to discuss university life, including the many extra-curricular and social activities available for students at Cambridge.

St John’s has a strong connection to the sciences, with alumni including the double Nobel Prize winning geneticist Frederick Sanger and Paul Dirac, the founder of modern Quantum Mechanics. Today, Natural Science students at Cambridge study one of the most flexible and extensive courses in the UK, which allows them to specialise in a single discipline or study topics from a wide range of scientific subjects.

Kate Farnell, who is studying for her GCSEs at Thomas Telford, wants to go to university to study Biology, to prepare for a career in physiotherapy.

“I didn’t know what to expect from coming to Cambridge. I knew it was one of the best universities in the world, so I was quite intimidated by the idea of studying here at first”, she said.  

“I was worried that Cambridge would be all about work, but the visit to St John’s, and Megan’s talk, showed me that there are lots of fun things to do in Cambridge too. It’s a really pretty place as well, and I’m definitely going to give it a go and apply here when I make my university choices”.

St John’s College runs events and visits for school groups of all ages. For more information, contact Megan Goldman-Roberts at accessofficer@joh.cam.ac.uk.

To learn more about applying to St John’s, please see www.joh.cam.ac.uk/applying.