Six Year 12 students from St. Michael’s – Olivia Urbanowicz, Alex Johnson, Holly Lancaster, Zoe Ubom, Emily Byrne and Pamela Consistente travelled up to Balliol College at Oxford University on Sunday 30th November for their initiation into The Floreat Oxford Programme.
Floreat is a year-long academic programme offered to Year 12 students from state schools in Hertfordshire and London. It offers the opportunity to engage with Oxford-style teaching in the humanities, and is offered to students free of charge.
The bulk of the academic content is delivered through a series of academic seminars, led by Oxford University representatives and hosted after school hours. The programme also includes a residential summer school in Oxford.
Balliol College is over 750 years old. We were given a tour of the college- The Quad, The Chapel, the Library and The Lecture Halls. We were then give the privilege of three seminars that were all linked to The Cold War period of History. Discussions and debates took place and we all took part, together with students from other sixth forms who had also been accepted onto the course. The purpose of the seminars was to develop discussions of sources and issues, focusing on The Troubles and Home Rule; and the setting up of The Balliol Boys’ Club. At the end of the last session, Kate Kettle (The Course Leader) gave a detailed presentation regarding the Oxford application process and outlining what the university would be looking for in prospective students. Overall, it was a very informative day.
Pamela Consistente, Year 12.
