Rebecca Bradshaw, 16, is a student at Blessed Trinity RC College, Burnley. This is her take on the week she spent at the University of Cambridge on the Business Challenge Summer School. The project is a new initiative funded by the Sutton Trust. Its aim is to give teenagers from less affluent areas a taste of all aspects of Uni life and get them thinking about the long-term benefits that a university education can bring.

Monday

After spending the best part of the morning reassuring myself and my parents that “I was okay and really looking forward to the Summer School”, I realised just how much of a lie this was as soon as I stepped through the doors to Newnham College. In actual fact, I wasn’t okay at all. Stood in a room full of complete strangers, I felt small and insignificant. But as I waved goodbye to my family and turned to face my fellow students, my nerves eased upon seeing my own fear reflected in the faces of everyone else.

There was no shortage of conversation starters: after all, we were all like-minded academic students, and soon I found myself talking to strangers as though I’d known them all my life! A tour of Cambridge with my appointed team and a session of ice-breaker games shook off any remaining worries. The food was good and I had a stunning view from my cosy room – it was going to be a great week after all!

Tuesday

In the first of the week’s Business Challenge Hours, I was in my element. With an ambition to pursue a career in law, the litigation workshops were perfect for me! Representatives from Clifford Chance, one of the biggest law firms in the world, were there to lead the activities and give advice to future lawyer hopefuls like myself. Other students had workshops with representatives from Lehman Brothers Investment Banking.

In the afternoon we walked through Cambridge to the Engineering Department, for a bridge building workshop. After noticing on my timetable that three hours had been scheduled for this activity, my heart sank. How could anyone make engineering interesting for so long? I couldn’t have been more wrong! My group was soon giggling about our pathetic attempts and indecisiveness, and our competitive student ambassador threatened to disown us when he thought we would never win! He quickly changed his tune though when we exceeded all expectations!

The day was rounded off with punting and a ghost walk, both of which would definitely be contenders for highlights of the week! The punt was a chance to see the city of Cambridge in all its glory, and the ghost stories in the dark made us all secretly a little bit nervous about walking past the traditional gothic buildings!

Wednesday

This was a day to really experience university life with lectures in subjects to suit everyone, much-needed advice on finances and applications in Higher Education, and all-round participation and progression in the Challenge Hours. With everyone getting on so well, we now felt comfortable enough to tease each other about our different accents. Friendships were in full bloom, and I couldn’t help but wonder how I’d ever been scared at all!

In the evening, we were treated to a performance of William Shakespeare’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’. It was fantastic and we laughed at some of the undergraduates’ disappointment in not being allowed to have mulled wine in the interval!

Thursday

Today we were given advice from Clifford Chance and Lehman Brothers about which pathways students like ourselves could follow, and had more academic taster sessions with top Cambridge University lecturers in between. Despite enjoying all of these activities, I couldn’t help but panic about the ever-looming sports afternoon. With two left feet and an absence of hand-eye-ball coordination, I dreaded the humiliation I would face when my new friends realised how ridiculous I was when it came to sport! However, as had been the case with all my other worries throughout the week, my nerves were wasted! The different stations set up on the field were simple and fun, and as for my lack of athletic prowess: I certainly wasn’t the only one and we laughed our way around the circuit!

A three-course meal at Pizza Express and a disco in Queen’s College was the perfect ending to a perfect day, and now my only worry was that I didn’t want to go home just yet!

Friday: the grand finale

The morning buzzed with emotion as tensions built up for the presentations and everyone prepared to say goodbye to their new friends. Clifford Chance and Lehman Brothers judged the work produced in the Challenge Hours and I was delighted when my group won the litigation section!

The final awards were distributed, photographs were taken in the beautiful Newnham grounds and email addresses and mobile numbers were frantically exchanged before we said our goodbyes and left to make our journeys home.

Parting Shots

Although pleased to see my family again, it was hard to part with the friends I’ve made who live so far away from me. In five days I gained so much and really felt part of the whole university experience. Being miles away from home without anyone I knew helped me to finally break out of the comfort zone I’ve been stuck in. Its given me the confidence boost I need to go on to college and university and feel comfortable about making friends and positively embracing new experiences. Bobbi Hartshorne and all of the staff and university students made the Summer School better than anything we could have expected, and I hope that I’ll have the opportunity to return to Cambridge again.
 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.