Y12 reports on visit to Hertford
29 October 2013
Last week a group of Y12s from The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School visited Hertford for a Taster Day. We are very grateful to Francesca Killoran (one of the group) for allowing us to feature her report (below) and if you would like to bring a school group for a visit, please contact the Registrar at matthew [dot] hiscock [at] hertford [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk
On Tuesday certain Year 12 students were extremely lucky to be able to visit one of the colleges within the esteemed University of Oxford. After a long coach journey we were able to walk through a small part of Oxford where we briefly saw iconic sights such as the Sheldonian and the Bodleian Library until we reached Hertford College. Once we were inside the college everybody was taken to ‘The Old Library’; here we were given a tutorial style session by Dr Jamie Castell. As a group we analysed one of William Wordsworth’s poems and tried to come to a conclusion about what the poem was trying to convey and the techniques used. The university style of teaching was very different when compared to our normal lessons in Coopers’. After the academic session we ate lunch in Hertford College Halls which was very generous of the college to supply and a really surreal experience to be eating in the same room as all of the students with grand portraits hanging on the wall. Next we were given a tour around the college where we were able to visit the college library and cross the Bridge of Sighs which connected two different buildings. All of our questions were answered as we saw teaching spaces and stood in the courtyards outside the students’ rooms. Then we returned to ‘The Old Library’ for a presentation on the admissions process and how to apply to Oxford and Cambridge. To finish the day we were able to have a question and answer session with two students beginning their second year at Hertford. One girl studied Maths whilst the other read Biology. Overall, the day was amazingly interesting and I feel that all the students who had the opportunity to go really enjoyed it and are inspired to aim to apply to study at some of the country’s top institutions.