On the 7th November, 35 Year 11 Gifted and Talented students were offered the amazing opportunity to visit one of the country’s leading universities, Oxford. We set off by coach early in the morning and after a quick stop on the way, arrived in Oxford at about 11.00am. As our scheduled talk and tour wasn’t due to start until 12.30, we had some time available and decided to walk around the beautiful surroundings. One of our group, A. Boot, has a sister who attends Oriel College (one of the oldest colleges of Oxford), and we had the opportunity to meet and chat with Hayley. In addition, she took us into the Oriel College Quadrant. She is studying law and told us when she decided she wanted to go to Oxford, how she applied and what A level grades are needed to be successful. It was really good to have a first hand view from someone who had applied from Imberhorne Sixth Form and to get her opinion on university life. After this, we went on a walk around Oxford. This city is dominated by fantastic architecture and colleges, as well as thousands of bicycles belonging to the students!! Then it was time to make our way to University College (known in Oxford as Univ). This is the most well known college that falls under the Oxford University title and it was very nice!! Anne Marie, our host, gave us an informative talk on the benefits of higher education and explained the application procedure for university entry generally and Oxford in particular. After being introduced to Univ, we went on a tour of the grounds. This was like stepping into something out of Harry Potter!!! We went into the library, the refectory and all of the Quadrants. We saw the Masters House and the first years’ accommodation. It was amazing to walk round and I am sure it made many people, including me, want to study here - it is such an impressive place! After our tour we went back to our room and were given a taste of what we could expect from studying at Oxford, or any university. We were given a quick lecture on a country called ‘Tanjea’, which had just been hit by a hurricane. We then arranged ourselves into groups and had to prepare a presentation to rejuvenate different aspects of the country. This was then presented to the rest of the group. As well as challenging us it gave us a real taste of what we would expect in university. Unfortunately, after this we had to say goodbye and head for home. I think the day inspired the group to continue our education beyond the Sixth Form, as well as giving us a taste of what to expect. A big thank you to Mrs Jones and Mr Walsh for organising the day and giving us this opportunity.A. FletcherYear 11