If you will be in Year 12 (i.e. will start sixth form) at a state school that is located in the West Midlands in September 2024, you are eligible to apply for a place on our webinar series! Applications will open in September 2024, but you can register your interest here now - we'll then email you when applications open. Registering interest doesn't obligate you to apply, but please make sure you use an email address you will still have access to in September.
The information below is for the 2023 series, which has now finished. This will be updated in early September for 2024.
We are excited to be working alongside colleges at both the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge for the West Midlands Webinars 2023. These will be a series of online sessions for Year 12 students at state schools or sixth form colleges in the West Midlands. This includes the Christ's link areas of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
The Webinar Series
The webinars will cover various aspects of applying to, preparing for and studying at Oxford and Cambridge, and will be suitable for any student hoping to apply to competitive universities. If you’re a high-achieving student (aiming to achieve above AAA at A Level), intellectually curious and ambitious, then these webinars will be a great start for your university journey. Whilst they will be focused on the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, much information should still be useful in thinking about universities more widely and preparing to apply and we encourage everyone with interest to apply for a place.
Format
These sessions will be run using the platform Zoom. As these sessions will run as webinars, your camera and microphone will not be enabled, and you will only be able to communicate with the hosts/panelists running the session by typing questions into the Q&A box.
Programme
The full programme details will be available shortly. Joining details will only be sent via email to those with a confirmed place. The programme will be as follows. The programme is designed to follow on from one another, and as such students are very strongly encouraged to make the time to attend live, and attend as many of these sessions as possible. You will gain the most benefit from doing so!
Every session will feature a representative from each of Cambridge and Oxford.
| Date & Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 17:00-18:00, Tuesday 10th October 2023 | An Introduction to Oxford & Cambridge |
| 17:00-18:00, Tuesday 24th October 2023 | Oxford & Cambridge: The Student's Perspective (ft. current students) |
| 17:00-18:00, Tuesday 7th November 2023 | The Oxbridge Application Process: A Masterclass |
| 17:00-18:00, Tuesday 21st November 2023 | Preparing in Year 12: Creating a Competitive Application & Succeeding in Sixth Form |
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
To apply for this programme, you must meet all of the following criteria in September 2024:
- You will be in Year 12
- Your school/sixth form does not charge fees (to anyone - you are not eligible if you are attending an independent/fee-paying school on a scholarship or bursary)
- Your school is located in one of the following regions: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke-On-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire.
We hope to offer as many students as possible a place on these webinars, and expect to be able to take all eligible applicants. However, if we have more applications than places available, we will prioritise students who match one or more of the following criteria:
- Have lived, or are currently living, in local authority care
- Are eligible, or have been eligible within the past six years, for free school meals
- Are a refugee
- Have caring responsibilities for a family member
- Live in neighbourhoods with low overall progression rates to higher education
- Have no parental history of higher education
- Have a disability
Apply for a Place
Applications are now closed for 2023. If you will be in Year 12 in September 2024, register interest here for the 2024 series.
If you attend a state school in the West Midlands, you can apply for your place here. We expect to be able to accommodate all eligible students interested so please do not hesitate to sign up. Applications are on a rolling basis, so if you have found this after the sessions have begun, please still sign up and attend the remaining sessions.
The sessions are designed to lead on from one another, so attending all is strongly encouraged but not required. Temporary access to recordings of the sessions will only be available at the end of the series, but you must sign up in order to receive these or catch up on earlier sessions missed. You will not be able to access the sessions after the temporary access expires, so wherever possible, we'd recommend attending live - not least because you will get the most out of asking questions during the actual session!
Find this after the 2023 series and in Year 12?
If you are looking for further support and advice around applying to Cambridge, please consider signing up to our student ongoing support mailing list, and check out our regular webinars, as well as our other events and open days.
Any questions?
Teachers and students can send any queries to Ellie at access@christs.cam.ac.uk.