The Extended Research Project (ERP) Mentor Evening took place earlier this term, affording Year 12 students at the midway point of their ERP projects unparalleled access to expert academics within their fields of study.
The conversations overheard throughout the evening confirmed that students were gaining real, hands-on experience of the relaxed yet highly intellectual dialogue common to university tutorials, an experience that will surely prove invaluable in their future studies and university interviews. Dr David Cram of Jesus College, who lectures in Linguistics at the university, commented that the evening was a wonderful opportunity to forge links between universities and the academics of tomorrow, as well as being a pleasant experience for academics and students alike.
Given the mind-boggling array of experts who donated their time and expertise on the night – including leading physicists, environmentalists, biologists, psychologists, linguists, historians, software engineers, criminologists, artistic directors, engineers, classicists and archaeologists – we can only agree that the experience must have been very fun – as well as enlightening – for the girls! A huge vote of thanks must go, therefore, to all our mentors, as well as to Miss Pallas-Brown, Director of Sixth Form, and Ms Cathy O’Neill, ERP Co-Ordinator, for organising such a stimulating event!
