The largest Cambridge University teachers' conference for ten years took place at the University earlier this week, with around 250 teachers from state schools and colleges around the country taking part.

The conference was organised to give teachers the chance to learn more about admissions, look round colleges and departments, meet current Cambridge students, and ask questions on a wide range of issues – from the content of courses to the level of financial support available.

“Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and hospitable which makes a big difference to the way we now feel about Cambridge. It’s really useful to be able to talk to admissions tutors informally as well as having more formal presentations,” said June Rhodes (pictured right), who is head of sixth form at Bennett Memorial School in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

“I’m looking forward to passing on what I’ve learnt to teachers and pupils at school – such as tips on how to write personal statements and what should be included in teachers’ references,” said Kathleen Lynch (left), who is assistant head of sixth form at The Judd School in Tonbridge, also in Kent.

As far as possible teachers were accommodated at the Cambridge colleges linked to their local areas under the University’s Area Links scheme.

Joyce Barthorpe and Shirin Denney, members of staff at St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College in Balham, stayed at St John’s College which works with schools and colleges in the London Borough of Lambeth to encourage more applications to Cambridge.

“I wish I’d come to an event like this many years ago – I had so many misconceptions about Cambridge. I even thought that students would have little pastoral, academic and financial support at Cambridge – which I now know is absolutely not the case. In fact Cambridge offers a high level of support – there’s a feeling here that people really care about their students,” said Shirin.

“Staying at St John’s College for two nights was just the most amazing experience – completely magical. We got a real taste of what it might be like to be a student at Cambridge – and we can now imagine our students being happy and doing well here.”

Her colleague Joyce added: “I had a picture of Cambridge as an elitist institution that would be expensive and was open only to a certain type of person – rich and posh. How wrong I was! The outreach that Cambridge is undertaking is brilliant – and you get the feeling that it’s genuine and not just a show. The only thing elitist about Cambridge is that it’s looking for the brightest students – it doesn’t matter where they come from.”

Vanessa Selwyn, who teaches at King Edward VI College in Nuneaton, and stayed at Clare College, which is matched up with Warwickshire under the Area Links scheme, said that one of the most valuable aspects of the conference was meeting current undergraduates.

“Coming to Cambridge for the first time was stepping into the unknown for me - and so it was great to meet lots of people one-to-one and be able to ask questions. At future events, I’d like to see more undergraduates involved in talking to teachers – it’s tremendously helpful to be able to ask them about their experiences,” she said.
 

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