On Friday afternoon our Aspire group had the opportunity to delve into the wisdom and experience of a group of RHS Oxbridge alumnae at our annual Tips for Oxbridge forum.

Complemented by the general Tips for Uni session held for our Year 13s a couple of weeks ago, the forum is designed for those of our Sixth Form applying specifically to Oxford or Cambridge University and gives them the chance to speak directly to members of our alumnae who have experience not only of life at Oxbridge but more specifically the application process itself, which differs from that of other universities.

We were delighted to be joined on screen by Caroline Lear (RHS 2015, French and Spanish), Daniela Alvarez Garcia (RHS 2015, Philosophy Politics and Economics), Lizzie Dunn (RHS 2016, French and Spanish), Sarah Haynes (RHS 2017, Classics/Literae Humaniores) and Lana Firth (RHS 2017, Class II and English). The girls all gave their personal insights into the application process, describing their interviews as being akin to a mini tutorial and explaining how these vary from subject to subject. Our guests advised the students to be ‘interested’ and ‘interesting’, explaining that the interviewers wish to understand how their mind works and are looking for independent thinkers. The students also heard about life at Oxbridge in general, the college system, the huge array of clubs, societies and activities on offer and were reassured that alongside the hard work it is a huge amount of fun!

Mathura Kathirgamanathan, Year 13, says ‘It was a brilliant opportunity for them to reflect on the application process and to give us words of advice and reassurance. It was good to hear from them, and the virtual aspect of the event didn't make a difference at all!’

Our sincere thanks go to our amazing alumnae, who were willing to give up their time to support our current students. We look forward to seeing our current sixth formers back in a few years’ time to share their experiences in the same way!