Sirius Academy, Hull visits St John's

Year 11 students from Sirius Academy in Hull visited St John’s in late November for an introduction to life at Cambridge. The visit began with a talk from the Admissions Tutor on College life, how to select a course and what Cambridge is looking for in applicants. The students then toured College with current undergraduates before having lunch in the Buttery.

After lunch, the students had the opportunity to quiz a panel of six undergraduates about their time at St John’s including questions on balancing work with extra-curricular activities. Following this the students visited the Old Library where they saw a manuscript copy of former Hull resident Philip Larkin’s A Study of Reading Habits accompanied by a letter from Philip to Guy Lee (the St John’s Librarian at the time).

The day finished with a visit to King’s College chapel and a tour of Gonville and Caius College given by their Schools Liaison Officer. The students were then allowed some free time in the city centre.

The visit had a great impact on the students’ views of Cambridge, with comments about the College and the University including:

'Fantastic place – looks like you get a lot of support from the university.’

'I’ve realised that it’s just a normal university and I feel a lot more positive about it now. The people that come here are lovely and it seems like a genuinely lovely place to be.’

'It seems to have a good balance of sport, social and academic. I would love to come here.’