A summer to get set for Oxbridge

By Ian Russell, Centre Leader and Oxbridge Scheme and UCAS Support Manager

IntoUniversity Brent

At this time of year, school-leavers across the country are settling in to a long summer. School is over and the sun is out; results day looms on the horizon, but despite the anxiety that accompanies those brown envelopes, many young people are looking forward to taking the next big step in their lives. The mentees on IntoUniversity’s Oxbridge Mentoring Scheme are no different. These young people are preparing to take up places at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and have been paired with alumni from both universities, there to offer them the guidance and expertise which will help to give them the best start possible to their new lives at university. 

It all began in April, six months before the start of the autumn term when our students are due to take up their places at Oxbridge. A Meet your Mentor event gave our mentoring pairs the opportunity to get to know each other and start to build a relationship that will last throughout our students’ first year at university. Since then, the pairs have been meeting to discuss how best to prepare for the exciting next step into Higher Education. Discussions have ranged from the college system, figuring out strategies to meet the academic demands of studying at a higher level, and even learning how to cook the best dishes on a student budget.

Equipped with all the advice and knowledge gained from working with their mentors, the young people will set off in October to start their university careers at Oxford and Cambridge. Throughout their first year the students will be in contact with their mentors to talk through their successes and challenges and to glean all the tips they can to help them thrive in their new environment. This support is particularly valuable in the first term as students adapt to life at university and are faced with a range of new situations and opportunities. Once the first year exams are over and students return home for the summer, the pairs will meet again to discuss all they have achieved together, and to look forward to what lies ahead.