Year 10 Challenge Days
In 2013, the Cambridge Admissions Office (CAO) will be running a series of Challenge Days for Year 10 students. These are free events that take place on a single day in Cambridge and are provided for maintained sector schools and colleges.
What are they?
Challenge Days are large-scale events where students participate in a number of taster lecture sessions, designed to offer a taste of higher education. The days involve introductory sessions on higher education and Cambridge, lunch in one of the Cambridge Colleges, and two subject taster lectures.
They give participants the opportunity to explore both arts and science-based subjects that they may not previously have experienced, and offer a chance to meet current undergraduate students.
The days run on selected dates in January and February between 10.30am to 3.30pm. Around 90 students will attend each event, with a maximum of ten from any one school or college.
Year 10 Challenge Days
| Date | Event | Contact/further information |
|---|---|---|
21 January 2013 |
Challenge Days for Year 10 students Challenge Days are large-scale events where academically able students participate in a variety of lecture sessions designed to offer a taste of higher education. Participants attend arts and science subject sessions and have the opportunity to meet current undergraduates. The day includes lunch at a Cambridge college. |
challengedays@cao.cam.ac.uk Charlotte Richer 01223 768676 |
Eligibility criteria
The Challenge Days are designed for students who are academically at the top of their cohort. This means that we expect all participants to be on course for a minimum of five A/A* grades in their GCSEs. Please note that the event will involve a high level of academic challenge, and sessions will be delivered in a lecture or seminar format.
Application process
We are able to take applications for school groups up to a maximum size of ten students. Applications must be submitted by a staff member at the individual school, and all groups must be accompanied on the day. We are unable to take individual applications for this event.
12 September – 1 December:
Schools should email challengedays@cao.cam.ac.uk and provide:
- a list of up to three dates in preference order
- the name and email address of the school contact
- the estimated number of students (up to a maximum of ten) they hope to bring, bearing in mind the academic eligibility criteria listed above.
All Challenge Day applications received by 3 December will be ranked, with priority given as follows:
- schools with below national average A*-C GCSE rate (including English and Maths) and above national average Free School Meals eligibility (FSM)
- schools with below average A*-C GCSE rate but below average FSM
- schools with above average A*-C GCSE rate but above average FSM.
Within these categories, priority will be given to schools who have the lowest GCSE A*-C pass rate and highest proportion of students in receipt of free school meals.
9 December: Schools will be informed of the result of their application by email. Schools that have been successful in their application will be allocated a date at this stage. No applications will be considered until the close of the deadline on 1 December and, as such, it will not be possible for us to confirm the allocated date until this stage.
9 December – 16 January: Schools will be required to provide the names and dates of birth of their student attendees on a secure online form. Any schools not having completed the form by this date will lose the offer of a place.