Broadening Horizons

Anna Jones

It was with great interest that I read last week that Emmanuel College, which takes 63% of its undergraduate students from state schools, is this year at the top of the Cambridge league table for undergraduates’ degree results. This is resounding proof that widening participation is successful in enabling students to achieve their full potential, regardless of social or educational background. This was very much the message that two Year 6 classes from Risley Avenue Primary School in Tottenham were given when the team at IntoUniversity Haringey North took them on a visit to Cambridge last Friday.

When I questioned the children about their perceptions of Cambridge before the visit, one of the comments made was that it was ‘only for posh people’. Another child commented that she would not like to go to Cambridge University in the future because it would be ‘too much pressure’. Indeed, when asked how many of them would like to study at Cambridge one day, only one child in the class put his hand up. Certainly I’d never seen the children as quiet as at the beginning of their visit, awed both by the impressive architecture of the college and by being offered squash in wine glasses by uniformed staff. Yet they soon relaxed as they set out in teams to explore the college and the nearby Faculty buildings on their specially-written campus quiz.

The day ended in a ‘graduation’ where the children donned mortar boards and received certificates to celebrate their achievements. When asked again how many of them would consider studying at Cambridge, every single hand went in the air. Of course, not every child in the class will attain the academic qualifications to enable them to apply to Cambridge one day, but certainly they all came away fired by a new love of learning and a determination to achieve their aspirations.
Many thanks to Selwyn College and Murray Edwards College for their generous hospitality and for making our visits such a success.