London pupils get their teeth into some tricky topics

These questions were the subject of fierce argument in the Parker Room at Corpus Christi College last week as a group of 14-year-olds from inner city schools pitted their wits against each other in a debating competition.

The 30 pupils, all from London schools, were taking part in a summer school run by ACDiversity and based at Corpus Christi for the third year running. An educational charity committed to raising the aspirations of academically-able teenagers of African and Caribbean heritage, ACDiversity matches students to mentors from leading City institutions – including JP Morgan, Barclays Capital and Reed Elsevier.

Passions ran high as speakers pressed home points that ranged from the stigmatisation of young black males and the fabrication of DNA to the rise in detection since the introduction of the database and its contribution to freeing those wrongly convicted. In the end, the judges declared the winner to be the team who argued that the database should be abolished – on the grounds that they made a number of excellent points and, most importantly, kept their cool to the very end.

This was just one session in a packed week during the ACDiversity summer school. The residential marks the beginning of the four-year programme and participants must pass the course in order to be allocated a mentor. The week is demanding with activities from 7 am to 11 pm – and aims to prepare pupils for making the most of the opportunities offered by the programme, including working with the busy professionals who mentor them.

This summer five people from Cambridge University contributed to the course, which is largely run by ACDiversity’s own tutors. Tom Chigbo, President of Cambridge University Students’ Union, led a session in which he talked about his childhood in north London and his experience of studying at St John’s College, Cambridge.

Dr Harold Ayetey, Clinical Research Fellow within the Smith Laboratory at the Wellcome Centre for Stem Cell Research and a clinician at Addenbrooke's Hospital, gave a talk on his pathway to Cambridge and his current work; his wife Julia Selman-Ayetey, a barrister and criminologist who took an MPhil at New Hall (now Murray Edwards), Cambridge, gave a workshop on the topic of the DNA database, laying the foundations for the debating contest.

Participants’ parents travelled to Cambridge for a formal dinner towards the end of the course. They were welcomed by Melanie Taylor, Admissions Tutor at Corpus Christi who gave an introduction on the admissions process, while historian and Corpus Fellow Dr Richard Drayton spoke to the students in a parallel session.

Ayuub Osman, a pupil at Paddington Academy who hopes to become a research chemist, said: “The talk from Harold Ayetey made me feel really, really happy. He’s a very clever guy and very successful – and he’s black. He’s a funny man too – not boring at all. I’m thinking that I might apply to Cambridge one day – it’s a top university.”

Cassandra Mambingo, who goes to St George’s RC School in Maida Vale and plans to study law, said that Julia Selman-Ayetey’s talk was inspiring. “Her workshop was great and I loved taking part in the debate. Cambridge is really different to London – a lot quieter and with fewer distractions. Studying here would give you a chance to concentrate.”

The lead administrator on ACDiversity’s summer school, Colleen Robinson, said: “At the end of the week, tutors on the course can see what can only be described as a transformation in the attitude and demeanour of the students. Corpus Christi provides us with a wonderful environment to work in – and everyone at the college is so supportive and flexible which makes a huge difference.”

Caption: (back row) Nicholas Michel (Quintin Kynaston School), Amenata Vandy (St Saviour’s and Olave’s), Cassandra Mambingo (St George’s RC School), Muyiwa Oduwole (Petchey Academy) (front row) Saiedatu Kamara (Harris Academy), Ayuub Osman (Paddington Academy), Jude Bonney (Rush Croft School).