CLARE PARTNERSHIP FOR SCHOOLS
supported by KPMG, Clifford Chance and Morgan Stanley
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Report to Sponsors
July 2006–July 2007
The seventh year of the Clare Partnership for Schools has been as varied and successful as ever, this year further expanding in size and involving over 500 pupils from at least 20 different schools.
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 have worked to widen both the range of ages of targeted pupils and the visit styles this year. In order to broaden the experiences gained by visiting pupils, we have collaborated with Cambridge’s Islamic Society, the Science Festival and the Debating Society, as well as with various University Faculties.
The active role of the Schools Liaison Officer has allowed the Partnership to go out into schools as well as well as inviting pupils, teachers and parents to Cambridge on open days and visits. Building on Charles Weiss’s successful tenure as Clare’s first Schools Liaison Officer, the position is being turned into a full time role, and Rachael Morris will be coordinating the Clare Partnership for schools visits within Clare from the beginning of September 2007.
This year, the discussions between Clare and the corporate sponsors have focused on plans to dovetail the Partnership’s existing activities with the sponsors’ employability, graduate recruitment, and employee volunteering activities and objectives. This is an exciting extension of our previous activities, and it will stress the important links between Higher Education choices and employability. It will also allow our corporate partners to interact directly with members of the Tower Hamlets Gifted and Talented programme.
Lesley Lambert at Clare, and Mike Tyler at the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership 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 finished his tenure, in which he continued to coordinate the academic component of each school visit, and successfully extended the Partnership to schools and colleges in Hackney and Newham.
Our pool of Clare students, including students from Tower Hamlets, has again made a very valuable contribution to the year’s activities, acting as hosts and offering visitors an insider’s view of education in Cambridge.
This year three Tower Hamlets students who were first introduced to Clare through the Partnership for Schools successfully graduated with Honours degrees. Clare College awarded Thirkill Prizes to all three, in recognition of their enthusiastic contributions to College life, especially Access events. One of the three, sponsored by Clifford Chance, is now at law school; another has an internship at an investment bank. Additionally, an undergraduate from Tower Hamlets who joined Clare in 2006 passed the first year of the History Tripos with a good 2:1. The College has accepted a student from Tower Hamlets to read Law, starting in October 2007.
3. SCHOOL PARTICIPATION
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)
Bow School (11–16)
Camden School for Girls (11-18)
Central Foundation (11–18)
Christ the King Sixth Form College (FE)
George Green’s (11–18)
Langdon Park School (11–16)
La Retraite (11-18)
Morpeth School (11–16)
Mulberry School (11–18)
Newham Sixth Form College (FE)
Prendergast School (11-18)
Raines Foundation (11–18)
St Paul’s Way (11–16)
Sir John Cass (11–18)
Stepney Green (11–16)
Tower Hamlets College (FE)
Oaklands School (11-16)
4. APPLICATIONS AND ADMISSIONS TO CAMBRIDGE AND OXFORD
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
2006-07 45 11
5. FUNDING
Funding from the three corporate sponsors, KPMG, Clifford Chance and Morgan Stanley, remains crucial to the Partnership’s success and long-term sustainability. We therefore very much hope to secure a renewed sponsorship agreement from our two longest-standing sponsors, KPMG and Clifford Chance, when their current funding arrangement expires at the end of 2007. The appointment of a full-time Schools Liaison Officer represents a significant additional investment by Clare College, and we are grateful for additional support for this initiative from the Smithers & Co. Charity.
The accounts for the calendar year 2006 and preliminary accounts for 2007 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 2006–07, Clare provided bursaries totalling £7,500 to help five students from Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs.
7. ACADEMIC PRIORITIES 2007–8
The Partnership successfully met its three academic priorities for 2006–07, recruiting a full-time Schools Liaison Officer; discussing with sponsors the best ways of aligning the Partnership’s activities with their existing employee mentoring programmes; and continuing to extend the Partnership in Newham and Hackney, working in Hackney through the Inspire scheme.
Dr Patricia Fara takes up the role of Senior Tutor at Clare on 1 October, following a year as Acting Senior Tutor.
For the coming year, the primary academic focus will remain on supporting Gifted and Talented students. Full-day sessions in London bringing together higher education, employability and mentoring strands will begin in the autumn, and a selected group of Year 12 students will be supported throughout the academic year and into the next one, right up to their University applications. The College will also develop a link, through an alumnus, with the Guardian Angels primary school in Tower Hamlets, to help raise the aspirations of pupils at an early stage.
8. EVENTS AND VISITS 2006–7
18 October: Oxford and Cambridge Interview Preparation Day (Year 13)
60 pupils, who had applied to either Oxford or Cambridge, attended a day of Interview workshops in Clare. They met for informal discussions with the appropriate director of studies and were given tours of various Faculties for subject specific information.
17 January: School Visit (Year 12 & 13)
Dr Weiss visited George Green’s in regards to opportunities in Higher Education and gave advice about applying to Cambridge.
14 February: Year 9-11 Girls
15 February: Year 9-11 Boys
Over 2 days, 55 Muslim pupils from various schools attended a day titled “Food for Thought”. Pupils discussed life at University with the senior Tutor and student members of the Cambridge Islamic Society. The pupils were given lunch and a tour of Clare accommodation and the town.
22 February: Year 10
15 pupils from Bethnal Green School’s Gifted and Talented Stream visited Clare for a maths day. They were given a talk in the Maths Faculty by Simon Singh and tours of Clare and town with Clare undergraduate students.
6 March: Year 7
45 pupils from the Gifted and Talented streams in Tower Hamlets visited Clare for a study day. Dr William Foster gave a talk on the conservation of animal species, after which the pupils were given lunch and guided tours of Cambridge. In the afternoon, they visited the Classics museum and Dr Charles Weiss gave a workshop on Rome and Ancient Greece.
19 March: Science Festival Day (Year 8)
30 pupils from the Gifted and Talented streams in Tower Hamlets visited for an interactive Science Day in association with the Cambridge Science Festival. Dr Frances Henson gave a talk ‘Medicine in Horses’, Dr Matthew Wilkinson a talk ‘Dust to Dragons’ and following lunch, the pupils had a tour of the Zoology museum.
14 May: Maths Day (Year 12 & 13)
15 pupils from Tower Hamlets College, with an interest in reading maths, attended a study day in Clare. In the morning, Dr William Foster gave a talk about Applying to University and Dr Maciej Dunajski led a maths workshop. Following lunch in Clare, they were given a tour of Clare, the town and the Maths Faculty with Clare mathematicians.
16 May: 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. Talks focused on life and finances at University and pupils were encouraged to make their own group presentations to the class.
12 June: Year 7
45 pupils from the Gifted and Talented streams in Tower Hamlets visited Clare for a study day. They were given talks by Dr William Foster and Dr Henry Snaith. Following lunch, they visited the Zoology Museum and were taken on a tour of Clare and the town by Clare students.
30 July: Year 7
41 members of the Gifted and Talented Debating Society visited Clare and had a tour of town and the colleges with the Cambridge Blue Badge Guides.
19 September: Year 11 & 12
30 pupils from the Gifted and Talented streams in Tower Hamlets visited the Cavendish Labs. They had lunch in Clare and a discussion on applying to Cambridge with Rachael Morris, the new Schools Liaison Officer.