Schools Liaison Initiative
The University of Cambridge is committed to admitting students of the highest intellectual potential, irrespective of social, religious or financial considerations. We hope to encourage all school pupils with the necessary ability, enthusiasm and potential to consider an application to Cambridge. King’s College aims to recruit the students who can most benefit from what we have to offer and we have initiated several schemes with this in mind.
We employ a full time Schools' Liaison Officer (SLO) to organise and undertake visits to schools, as well as co-ordinating visits to the College by school pupils and teachers. We welcome enquiries from any school or college, and we will try our best to work with any school that approaches us. We can provide sessions for students, teachers and other supporters of applications.
One of the most successful initiatives made by the College has been the student-run 'Access Bus' which travels to the North East of England and visits a number of schools in the Easter Vacation: school student feedback on these visits has been very positive.
Examples of recent press coverage on some of our activities can be found at the bottom of this page.
Year 10 and 11
Schools' Liaison Officer visits to schools and colleges
The SLO visits schools and colleges to provide advice and guidance for years 10 and 11 about selective universities in general and Cambridge in particular. The idea is to raise aspirations and show students what hard work at school could lead to. Practical advice will also be given about subject choices for A level or IB. The aim is for these visits to be interactive and as such they will often include workshop activities depending on the size of the group.
The SLO will work in conjunction with the school to ensure that each cohort of students is specifically catered to.
Year 12
Visits to King’s College for gifted and talented students
We welcome groups of Gifted and Talented students from all over the country in order to show them at close hand what King's College and the University of Cambridge have to offer and provide information about the application process. So far as is possible and subject to vacation periods, our undergraduates are also involved in these events so that visitors can ask questions of students who have been through the process and now study at Cambridge.
A typical timetable might look something like this:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 10.20 | Arrival |
| 10.30 | Talk: How Cambridge works. Followed by Q&A. |
| 11.15 | Tour of King's College and Chapel |
| 12.15 | Lunch in the College Hall |
| 13.00 | Talk/workshop: Personal Statements and Interviews |
| 13.45 | Visit to a University Teaching Collection e.g. Zoology |
| 14.30 | Final questions/comments |
| 14.45 | Depart |
Unfortunately we cannot host such visits during our exam period (usually from the end of April to mid June) and our admissions period (October to December).
Schools' Liaison Officer visits to schools and colleges
The Schools Liaison Officer visits schools and colleges to give presentations about the University of Cambridge and King’s, run workshops on the application process and to participate in Higher Education events for individual schools or areas. Teacher training sessions can also be arranged.
For parents
King’s is aware of the need for keeping parents, family and other supporters of applications fully informed regarding the University and the application process. Whenever we visit a school or event we attempt to meet with supporters of applications if it is possible. At our September Open Day we hold a session specifically for supporters of applications. The SLO is happy to visit schools for parent/guardian events.
For teachers
The SLO is available to run sessions at staff training and development days on Cambridge in general and the various aspects of the application process, from personal statements through to interviews.
At least twice a year we hold teacher/adviser conferences. These days have been developed for members of staff who support Sixth Form students applying for places in Higher Education, and particularly at Cambridge University. Organised by a consortium of Colleges including King’s, the formal conference proceedings usually run from 9am until 4pm to provide guidance on our admissions process, what we are looking for in potential Cambridge candidates, reference writing and how to advise applicants on the interview process.
There are opportunities to look around some of the University facilities, and to meet Admissions staff from a number of Colleges. We welcome teachers, learning mentors, careers advisers, university advisers and any other appropriate member of staff.
No charge is made for SLO attendance at training days or for delegates attending the conference.
Web stories on our teacher/adviser conferences
- April 2008: Teachers find Cambridge 'accessible and welcoming'
- January 2008: Teachers from state schools learn how Cambridge really works
- January 2007: Teachers' conference helps de-mystify Cambridge admissions
In the press
Some examples of the work we do can be seen at these web stories:
Residential week 2008:
Open Days:
The Choir
You can watch King's College Choir participating in the recent BBC documentary 'Boys Don't Sing' on the choir page.
We welcome invitations from schools and colleges, especially if they are able to co-ordinate with other neighbouring institutions so that we can meet a good number of potential applicants. Please note that in the admissions period (October-December) we are unable to host or make school visits. To find out more, or to become involved, please contact our Schools Liaison Officer, Kristy Guneratne: slo [at] kings [dot] cam [dot] ac [dot] uk.
