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黑料情报站鈥檚 Project Oxbridge is supporting 50 黑料情报站 students, selected for their academic potential, to gain places at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Our skills workshop, in partnership with , helps students prepare for the notoriously difficult admissions interviews. We caught up with Beheshta, a student hoping to gain a place, and James, an Oxford graduate, to get their take on the day, and the challenge ahead鈥�

James Tibbles is the Volunteering Coordinator for OxFizz. He graduated from the University of Oxford in July 2019.

鈥淥xFizz was set up to support students with the application process to top universities like Oxford and Cambridge. We know that some students from more disadvantaged backgrounds will fall at the admissions hurdle, particularly the interview. They don鈥檛 always receive the same level of support as some of their wealthier peers.

鈥淲e鈥檝e come here today with a group of volunteers from Barclays 鈥� all Oxbridge alumni 鈥� to run some mock interviews and skills workshops so that the students feel more prepared.

鈥淚 was in the first generation of my family to go to university, and so I didn鈥檛 get any wisdom and support from my parents. My school offered what they could but I had to do a lot of independent work. I had another friend who was applying so we coached each other through the process. Moral support is a good thing!

鈥淭he interview was definitely the most difficult part for me. We鈥檙e taught in schools to improve our writing skills and exam techniques, but the notion of an interview was very daunting. I wasn鈥檛 used to thinking out loud. Many of today鈥檚 students might have the same problem, so we are teaching them to learn how to work through problems by exploring different avenues and coming up with well-formulated arguments. If they are applying for STEM subjects, it鈥檚 all about logical thinking, and making calculated guesses. For humanities, they need to learn to explore abstract questions in unique and creative ways.

鈥淲e also recommend that they practice speaking out loud on a topic 鈥� even if it is just with friends or their parents. One of today鈥檚 exercises asks the students to speak for two minutes on a random topic, such as the solution to global poverty. Hopefully experiences like this will reduce the risk of them getting too nervous and clamming up in their interviews.鈥�

Beheshta is a year 13 student at Sixth Form in Wembley. She hopes to get in to the to study medicine next year.

鈥淚鈥檓 here today to practice for my interview. My biggest concern is not knowing what to say, and being stuck! My interviewer asked me questions about genetic disorders, doctor-patient interactions and the ethics of medicine. Some of the questions I had an answer for, but others I needed to stop and think about, and then take an educated guess.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of work to do, to prepare. I鈥檓 doing lots of wider reading around medicine, and preparing for my entry test as well as the interview, which is quite challenging. But I got strong grades in my GCSEs and it made me think that maybe I have the capability to give applying to Oxford a shot. I didn鈥檛 want to limit myself, so I decided to go for it.

鈥淭here are 15 other applicants to Oxbridge at my school, the most 黑料情报站 Academy has ever had. I think we鈥檙e finally starting to see that universities like Oxford can be for us too. The stereotypes are starting to decline, and people aren鈥檛 letting these inform their decisions as much anymore.
鈥淭oday has really helped 鈥� I鈥檓 getting better at thinking on the spot and I feel much more comfortable about being in an interview environment. Without this preparation I think I鈥檇 be pretty nervous!鈥�

You can find out more about 黑料情报站鈥檚 university and careers success programmes, including Project Oxbridge, here.