Record numbers of school pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds applied for places on the GEEMA Summer School which takes place at Newnham College this week (AUG 6-11). GEEMA, the Group to Encourage Ethnic Minority Applications to Cambridge, is part of the Widening Participation programme at the Cambridge Admissions Office.
Record numbers of school pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds applied for places on the GEEMA Summer School which takes place at Newnham College this week (AUG 6-11). GEEMA, the Group to Encourage Ethnic Minority Applications to Cambridge, is part of the Widening Participation programme at the Cambridge Admissions Office.
“Over 250 pupils applied for 40 places on the school. That’s double the number of applicants we had last year,” said GEEMA coordinator, Nikhil Gomes. “We’re thrilled that our outreach efforts have been so effective. It means that we are able to select pupils who meet all our criteria.”
Participants on this week’s Summer School come from schools and colleges around the country, including London, Birmingham, Oldham and Plymouth with backgrounds that reflect the rich ethnic diversity of Britain ranging from Chinese through to Turkish. All students come from families with no history of higher education, have parents in non-professional occupations and attend schools where 60 per cent of pupils, or fewer, gain five A-Cs at GCSE.
The Summer School has been designed to give the pupils a stimulating taste of life as a first-year undergraduate at Cambridge with a mix of academic and social activities. These range from lectures on “Medieval Gangsters”, and “Why aren’t we just what we eat?” to practical sessions building bridges in the Engineering Department, and on ‘Evolution and Adaption’ in the Museum of Zoology. They will also go punting on the Backs, watch a production of Twelfth Night and enjoy at gala dinner at Girton College.
Six Cambridge undergraduates are working with the Summer School students, accompanying them throughout the week to provide support. They are studying a range of subjects within the arts and sciences, and their ethnic backgrounds reflect those of participants.
Among them is Edleen John, a second-year undergraduate at Churchill College, studying Social and Political Sciences. Her family came to Britain from Sierra Leone in West Africa and she attended a small, all-girls comprehensive in South East London.
She says: “I applied to Cambridge after coming on a GEEMA Summer School. Schemes like GEEMA really help to dispel some of the myths about Cambridge, and that’s why I wanted to stay involved. On top of that, working with young people is great fun. I’m loving my time at Cambridge – in fact, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Since its establishment in 1989, GEEMA has developed close relationships with schools and colleges, communities and outreach programmes, throughout the country. It runs regular educational enrichment “Challenge Days” for year 10 students as well as other outreach programmes for ethnic minority pupils.
Current GEEMA Coordinator Nikhil Gomes, who studied Social and Political Sciences at Christ’s College and has worked for the Cambridge Admissions Office for the past three years, is leaving Cambridge at the end of the summer school.
He said: “Giving participants the opportunity to experience what life at a top university is like can encourage them to consider options that they might not have thought achievable before. We find that when students come and get to experience new subjects that they may never have heard of, or subjects they are used taught in different ways, they go away enthused and ready to engage fully in their A-levels.”
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