High-flying students land top university places (From Andover Advertiser)

Twelve QMC students offered prestigious places

3:00pm Monday 4th March 2013 in Basingstoke By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter

A DYNAMIC dozen of high-performing students at a Basingstoke college have secured places at Oxford and Cambridge universities this year.

Twelve students at Queen Mary’s College have been offered places at the prestigious places of learning to study a range of subjects including maths, chemistry, physics, materials science, medicine, languages and history.

Two have been given a place on Cambridge’s veterinary science course, which has some of the toughest competition for places in the UK.

Stephen Sheedy, principal at QMC, who studied English at Oxford in the 1970s, said: “These young people have come to us from many different schools across Basingstoke and beyond, and we are rightly very proud of their achievements.

“The steady increase in the number of our students interested in entry to the nation’s finest universities in all subject areas, including the sciences and medicine, is particularly pleasing.

“We have a very strong team of teachers, who are exceptionally well-qualified to assist them in reaching their goals.”

QMC students benefit from specialist preparation sessions to guide them through the application process for Oxford and Cambridge, and take part in group discussions and mock interviews.

Rebecca Barrett, 18, has been offered a place at Cambridge University to study veterinary science.

The former Brighton Hill Community School pupil said: “The programme of support I have received from QMC has undoubtedly moved me a step closer to achieving my dream of becoming a vet.

“The mock interviews with subject specialists, along with the preparation for the BMAT (a high-level aptitude test for medical sciences), were especially helpful in preparing me for my interview at Cambridge University. From talking to friends at other colleges, I’m convinced that I would not have received better support anywhere else.”