City youngsters set for Oxbridge in record breaking year for Sixth Form College
Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College are celebrating after five students were offered Oxbridge places.
And with a sixth student also in the running for a place it looks set to be a record breaking year for Stoke-on-Trent’s sixth formers.
“The competition for places is such that we would normally expect to see two or three students achieve an Oxbridge place, so 2012 looks set to be an outstanding year,” said Geoff Willis, who co-ordinates the activities of the Able and Talented students.
The five students with confirmed offers are Shannon Taggart, Torben Schwartz, Lucy Neat, David Fitzpatrick and Jordan Williamson.
A sixth student, Luke Hatcher, has been granted a place in the “pool” system. Students apply to one of the Oxford or Cambridge College’s but, if there is an excess of suitable candidates, those who do not get their first choice are placed in a pool to be considered b other Colleges.
College Principal Helen Pegg said: “We are extremely proud of the achievements of our students. Geoff Willis and the team have considerable expertise and support students in drafting application statements, mock interviews and the Oxbridge examinations.”
Former Haywood High pupil Jordan Williamson, of Burslem, has been offered a place at Trinity College to study Law. He said: “It is great that I got the offer I wanted. All through school people have told me that I was clever and I should go for it.
“My mum has encouraged me all the way. She told me that she was good at school but didn’t go for it and that I should take the opportunities on offer.
“I was very nervous before my first interview at Trinity College but they are friendly and it went well.”
Geoff Willis said: “Getting a place to study Law at Oxford is incredibly challenging and we are very pleased with Jordan’s success.
“Students such as Jordan and Shannon (a former Edensor High School pupil) attended local city high schools and their achievements are fantastic.
“Shannon Taggart has been offered a place at Oxford to study medicine. She had to sit a special bio medical examination as part of the admissions process and her results were in the top 10 per cent of entrants.”
Shannon, from Fenton, said: “The entrance examinations were a great challenge as they stretched my knowledge further than the ‘A’ Level syllabus.
“Nearly everyone I met was from either the London area or a private school but I think that my achievements show that if you show the commitment you can achieve. I don’t think people should be held back just because of where they come from.”
Torben Schwartz of Hopton, near Stafford, is set to study Philosophy at Cambridge.
Lucy Neat, from Trentham, has been offered a place to study Modern Foreign Languages at Cambridge and David Fitzpatrick, a former pupil of St Peter’s High, Penkhull, has an offer to study Mathematics at Oxford.
All offers are subject to the students achieving their expected grades at ‘A’ Level.
