More than 220 high achieving Year 10 students and their parents streamed into the Village Hotel to learn how to secure a place at a top university. The students, all of whom are likely to achieve As and A*s at GCSE, listened attentively as Twynham School Head Teacher, Dr. Terry Fish, shared invaluable information and talked tactics.
For several years Dr. Fish has held seminars to offer specialist advice to the cleverest students in the area. His ‘How to get to a Top University’ seminars, that are open to all high achieving Year 10 students in the area, have been very popular.
With tougher economic times meaning that the best employers are offering fewer top graduate positions to students when they leave university, parents and students are looking for any help they can get. Gaining a degree from a top university can make all the difference. However, getting to a top university presents a major challenge even for the very cleverest. Recent announcements from the coalition government that cuts to the university budget are inevitable will only make the situation more difficult.
Dr. Fish comments: “The impact of league tables has encouraged some state schools into persuading students to take what are commonly known as ‘soft A-Levels’ which the top universities simply don’t value as much as more traditional subjects. This means that students’ university and career prospects can be damaged. It also seems to be the case that many bright students do not get the advice and assistance that they need when it comes to applying to the best universities. My ambition is for state schools students to receive the same advice and support which private school students so often routinely receive. Why shouldn’t a very bright state school student be presented with the very best opportunity to secure a place a top university?”