Bolton School’s John Newbould says that the school’s second Oxbridge Conference – which shares application expertise with maintained-sector pupils – demonstrated community partnership at its very best
The Oxbridge Conference held at Bolton School is the realisation of an idea pitched by the school?s Head of Sixth Form (Girls? Division), Catherine Winder, at a meeting of heads of sixth form from the Bolton Learning Alliance, a collaboration of local secondary schools.
This year?s conference was organised in partnership with state schools Canon Slade and Rivington and Blackrod High School (RBHS) and attended by 80 ambitious students from Bolton School, Bolton Sixth Form College, UTC, Turton, RBHS, Canon Slade and Thornleigh. It builds upon the success of the inaugural conference held in 2019. Opening the day, Mrs Winder explained that it?s timed to kickstart Year 12 students? thinking, in order that they are ready to make an informed choice about applying to Oxford or Cambridge and to support them in making a competitive application in the Autumn.

Gaia Lambert, Schools? Liaison and Access Officer from St John?s College Cambridge, gave a thorough overview of applying to competitive universities and highlighted points of difference between Oxford and Cambridge. She told how Oxbridge colleges are looking for A* and A grades at A-level and explained how each college is like a mini-campus. She advised how admissions staff will always be happy to arrange to...