Around 100 Cambridge University students have registered an interest in the University of Cambridge Ambassadors Project (UCAP) which involves current students in a range of widening participation activities.

Central to these activities is the drive to encourage more academically able state school pupils to consider applying to Cambridge.

Almost 50 of the students interested in UCAP attended an initial meeting to re-launch the existing undergraduate mentor scheme, held last Friday at the Law Faculty.

UCAP is run by Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO), where it is coordinated by Jacqui Howard (pictured above), newly-appointed Schools and Colleges Liaison Officer. She will be harnessing the enthusiasm and energy of hundreds of current students in order to reach out to groups under-represented at Cambridge.

The meeting introduced attendees to CAO’s widening participation programme which includes open days, challenge days and residential visits, as well as a new e-mentoring programme planned for next year. All student ambassadors will be trained, before being invited to help with any of these events.

Some of the students who attended Friday’s meeting had previously been involved in CAO access initiatives - but many were new to the scheme. Among them was Mohammad Razai, a first-year medical student at St Edmund’s College. Mohammad, who was brought up in Afghanistan and moved to London in 2001, took his A levels at Uxbridge College, an FE college in West London.

“At college we had a talk about Cambridge from students involved in a widening participation scheme and learnt about the Sutton Trust summer schools. In 2004 I took part in a summer school based at St John’s College and as a direct result I decided to apply to Cambridge – which had previously seemed an elitist institution for public school students. I quickly saw beyond the stereotypes,” he said.

“One of the people helping on the summer school was a Sikh student and he made me realise that the university was much more diverse than I’d thought. Meeting him and other students made a huge difference to how I felt – and that’s why I would now like to make a contribution to the scheme.”

Thousands of students from different age groups, schools and backgrounds will take part in CAO events throughout the year. This year’s challenge days for Year 10 and 12 students are already fully booked, with nearly 1,800 school and college pupils due to attend these popular day events over the next few months.

Jacqui Howard, who helped with CAO access events throughout both her undergraduate and postgraduate years at Homerton College, said she was thrilled by the students’ response.

“It’s so pleasing to see the number of current students who are committed to widening participation, and also to meet those who were encouraged to apply to Cambridge by attending our events in the past. That really shows how much difference we can make by reaching out to talented students from all backgrounds,” she said.

“It’s a question of dispelling myths that deter bright and capable students from applying and giving them accurate information. We know this message is most clearly communicated from current students.”

Cambridge students interested in being involved in the University of Cambridge Ambassadors Project are invited to contact Jacqui on jh675@cam.ac.uk.
 

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