Report to Sponsors
July 2005–July 2006
This sixth year of the Clare Partnership for Schools has seen another active and varied programme, with 300 pupils from schools in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney taking part in activities.
We have been particularly pleased to welcome Morgan Stanley as a third corporate partner, fulfilling a longstanding ambition to have a representative firm from the financial services sector actively engaged in the Partnership.
We have pursued the academic priorities set last year, in particular focusing on the Gifted and Talented stream and assisting high-ability students in Years 12 and 13 with applications to Oxford and Cambridge. We are continuing to host visits for parents of high-achieving students, since parents are often involved in making university choices.
We have been able to offer specialist subject provision in Mathematics, through the Further Mathematics Network and the Cambridge Millennium Mathematics Project.
The active involvement of the Schools Liaison Officer has allowed us to take the Partnership out to schools, as well as welcoming groups of pupils, teachers and parents to Cambridge. This two-way dialogue has enriched the programme of events and given the Partnership renewed vitality.
Current students at Clare, including three students from Tower Hamlets, have continued to play a key role in the Partnership, providing good role models and acting as ambassadors for the Partnership at school and parents’ visits.
Lesley Lambert at Clare, and Mike Tyler at the Education Business Partnership in Tower Hamlets have continued to assist during the year in a variety of capacities. We are, as always, very grateful to Mr Alan Watts as AimHigher Coordinator in Tower Hamlets for his assistance with Gifted and Talented visits.
Dr Charles Weiss, Schools Liaison Officer, has continued to coordinate the academic component of each school visit, and has successfully extended the Partnership to schools and colleges in Newham and Hackney.
Our pool of Clare students, including students from Tower Hamlets, have again made a very valuable contribution to the year’s activities, acting as hosts and offering to visitors an insider’s view of education in Cambridge.
Students from the following schools have taken part this year:
Bethnal Green Technology College (11–16)
Bishop Challoner Boys’ (11–18)
Bishop Challoner Girls’ (11–18)
Blessed John Roche (11–16)
Bow School (11–16)
Camden School for Girls (11–18)
Central Foundation (11–18)
Christ the King Sixth Form College (16–18)
Crossways Sixth Form Academy College (16–18)
Forest Hill Boys School (11–18)
George Green’s (11–18)
Highbury Fields School, Islington (11–18)
Langdon Park School (11–16)
La Retraite, Lambeth (11–18)
Morpeth School (11–16)
Mulberry School (11–18)
Newham Sixth Form College (16–18)
Our Lady’s Roman Catholic High School, Hackney (11–18)
Prendergast School (11–18)
Raines Foundation (11–18)
St Angela’s Ursuline Convent School, Newham (11–18)
St Paul’s Way (11–16)
Sir John Cass (11–18)
Stepney Green (11–16)
Swanlea School (11–16)
Tower Hamlets College (FE)
Students with a home address in Tower Hamlets
Applicants Places
2001-02 29 10
2002-03 50 9
2003-04 57 19
2004-05 40 11
2005–06 37 7
For the second year in succession since the announcement of top-up fees, both applications and places have declined. This underlines the importance of intensifying our widening access efforts, and the need for a full-time Schools Liaison Officer.
In a positive development, a student from Tower Hamlets started at Clare College in October 2006 reading History, and a student from Tower Hamlets College received an offer in January 2007 to take up a place reading Law at Clare in October 2007.
5. FUNDING
We were delighted to welcome Morgan Stanley as our third corporate sponsor in early 2006, representing the financial services sector. Morgan Stanley has committed to providing sponsorship for three years, until the end of 2008.
Looking ahead, the recruitment of a full-time Schools Liaison Officer will require significant additional investment by the College, while the current funding arrangement with our two long-standing sponsors, KPMG and Clifford Chance, is due to expire at the end of the calendar year 2007. We therefore very much hope to secure a renewed sponsorship agreement from both firms which have been instrumental in the growth and success of the Partnership since its inception.
The accounts for the calendar year 2006 are attached.
6. BURSARIES
The success of the Partnership has enabled the College to leverage additional financial support, in the form of bursaries, from Linklaters and Allen & Overy. In the academic year 2005–06, Clare was therefore able to provide six bursaries, totalling £7,500, for students from Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs.
7. ACADEMIC PRIORITIES 2005–6
Polly O’Hanlon’s appointment to a Professorship at Oxford brings her term as Senior Tutor at Clare and her strong personal involvement in the Partnership for Schools to an end, after six years of inspiring leadership. During the one-year tenure of the Acting Senior Tutor, pending the appointment of Polly’s permanent successor, we plan to consolidate the Partnership’s activities, focusing in particular on building the infrastructure for the next phase of activities. In particular, we intend to:
8. EVENTS AND VISITS 2005–6
3 September: Bangladeshi Parents’ Day
35 parents from the east London Bangladesh Society visited Clare and were given an overview of student life, with a question and answer session, hosted by the Schools Liaison Officer, Charles Weiss. Afterwards, they were given a guided tour of Cambridge.
19 October: Interview Preparation Day (Year 13)
60 pupils from schools in Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Camden attended the annual interview preparation day at Clare. These pupils were all applicants to Oxford or Cambridge. They took part in an interview workshop and met with Directors of Studies for subject-specific advice.
16 January: School Visit
The Schools Liaison Officer, Charles Weiss, visited George Green’s School to talk to pupils about the Partnership for Schools and, more generally, about opportunities in higher education.
1 February: Year 7
20 pupils from the Gifted and Talented streams in Tower Hamlets used Clare as a base for a day trip to Cambridge which included a tour of the College and a visit to the Botanic Gardens.
14 March: Year 7
45 pupils from the Gifted and Talented streams in Tower Hamlets visited Clare for a study day. Martin Ellwood gave a talk on ‘Saving the Rainforest’, after which the pupils were given lunch and guided tours of Cambridge. In the afternoon, Dr Charles Weiss gave a Latin workshop.
28 March: School Visit
Dr Charles Weiss attended the Careers Fayre at Newham Sixth Form College to give advice on Cambridge and higher education applications.
27 April: Year 12
17 pupils from Tower Hamlets College visited Clare under the auspices of the Cambridge Millennium Maths Project. In the morning, they took part in a workshop by Dr Maciej Dunajski (Director of Studies in Mathematics and Newton Trust Lecturer). After lunch at Clare, they were given a tour of the College and a ‘Mathematics tour’ of Cambridge by current maths undergraduates at Clare.
20 June: Year 7
40 pupils from the Gifted and Talented streams in Tower Hamlets visited Clare for a study day. Once again, Martin Ellwood gave a talk about rainforest ecology, and Matthew Wilkinson gave a mini-lecture about our prehistoric ancestors. The pupils were given lunch in College and guided tours of Cambridge.
21 June: Year 6 Residential Visit
The College hosted a residential visit by 35 pupils from Tower Hamlets schools, in association with the Tower Hamlets Rural Studies Centre at Gorsefield, Essex. The Access Officer from the Union of Clare Students gave a talk about University life; pupils were also given lunch and a tour of the College.
26 June: Year 10
45 pupils from Bow School visited the College for a programme of academic talks, lunch and a guided tour by the UCS Access team.