Abingdon News No.49

www.abingdon.org.uk 11 Moving on 2018 proved to be yet another highly successful year for Abingdonians with 201 entrants, 30 of whom were OAs, applying to UK universities. The trend to apply to traditional courses at top universities continued, with boys securing places at Oxford (11) and Cambridge (10), and with Exeter (17), Bath (11), Bristol (10) and Durham (7) all featuring prominently. London drew many applications, to Imperial, King’s College, LSE and UCL, the latter topping the list with 17 places won. 70% of all applicants gained a place at their first-choice university, a particularly impressive performance given the competitive nature of the universities to which our students applied. It could also be said that 2018 was a ‘buyer’s market’ with several universities accepting students who did not quite make the grade. This seems to be an upward trend, although it is less prominent amongst the Russell Group universities. The popularity of degree courses was spread pretty evenly between the disciplines; the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities all seeing their fair share of applications. The 24 places to study engineering were countered by 17 places gained to study history, 13 for economics, and 11 for geography and modern languages apiece. Some boys opted for less traditional choices with Abingdonians embarking on degree studies in subjects as diverse as criminology, liberal arts, graphic design and popular music. As the depth and breadth of courses on offer grows, students have increasingly exciting opportunities ahead of them in the years to come. In addition to the UK destinations, five boys won places to study overseas, one at each of the following: Boston University, Columbia University, Hong Kong University, University of Pennsylvania,Yale University Caroline Taylor, Assistant Upper Master, Universities Leavers’ Destinations Fifth year academic scholars toured New College with OA Antony Bracey, followed by visits to the Bodleian Library, Pitt Rivers and the Museum of Natural History. The boys also toured the University’s new physics lab and enjoyed a lecture from Professor Ian Shipsey.