EXETER College’s most academically gifted students are to be helped to get into top universities in a pioneering new programme that is one of the first of its kind in the nation.
They will have the chance to hone their speaking and debating skills with some of the country’s most respected figures in their fields, giving them an upper hand in getting into the universities of their choice.
The Reach Academy sponsored by the Met Office will give Exeter College’s most academically-able, A-Level and International Baccalaureate students access to a year-long, prestigious speaker programme, master classes, residential trips and study skills workshops.
All the activities are aimed at ensuring the students are challenged to reach their full potential while at college and succeed in progressing onto some of the country’s best universities.
Speakers who have already promised to give lectures and lead debates for the Reach Academy include Spencer Dale, Chief Economist of the Bank of England, George Alagiah, BBC News correspondent and presenter, and Derrick Ryall, Head of Defence Climate Research Programme at the Met Office.
The Reach Academy starts in September and applicants to the prestigious programme will need to get top grades in their GCSE exams this summer and undergo a rigorous selection process to get a place.
It was launched at the Met Office on Monday, June 1, when Penny Tranter, head of Met Office College and former BBC weather presenter, several Reach Academy applicants from St Peter’s C of E College, Clyst Vale Community College and Exmouth Community College.
Anne Oxborough, Assistant Principal of Exeter College who is leading the Reach Academy, said: “This is an exciting and unique programme. All the activities for the Reach Academy have been planned to be directly relevant for students applying to the country’s leading universities, where admissions officers are placing more and more importance on the extra-curricular experience applicants have.
“For example, the Reach speaker programme is designed to be fun, stimulating, cross-curricular and to introduce students to new ideas and ways of thinking. Each lecture or master class will be followed by a debate or discussion so that students can build self- confidence in speaking and debating – key skills for selective universities and employers. The speakers on the REACH Academy programme are also some of the country’s most respected figures in their field.
“We are also thrilled that such a world-class organisation as the Met Office is sponsoring our ground-breaking initiative to give students a head-start in reaching for the top in their chosen careers.”
The Reach programme will allow Exeter College’s most academically-gifted A-Level students to take part in a range of activities mainly in their first year of study to prepare them for submitting university applications by the start of the second academic year.
Other Reach master class speakers include Professor Martin Goodman, Oxford University and BBC consultant on Romans and Jews: the history of anti-Semitism; Dr Jim Gilbert, Chair of Medical Ethics Committee at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital and Director of Exeter Hospice; Professor Sue Blackmore, psychologist and neuroscientist and author of books on consciousness; Frances Cairncross MBE, Rector of Exeter College Oxford and distinguished economist; Dr Paul Redmond, Head of Employability and Careers at Liverpool University and author of books on successful careers; Professor Steve Smith, Vice-Chancellor Exeter University and international politics expert; and Ben Bradshaw, Exeter MP.
In addition to the Reach Speaker Programme there are careers and progression interviews, A-Level study skills and exam technique workshops, career management sessions, university conferences and UCAS, interview and admissions test preparation skills.
There are also subject-specific optional activities, for example, reading, current affair, science and modern languages groups, competitions, residentials, summer schools, Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Oxbridge shadowing and mentoring and Ten Tors.
The Reach Academy Residential in London includes visits to the Operating Theatre Museum with a demonstration of Victorian Surgery, the Bank of England, a West End Theatre and the House of Commons.