Abingdon News No. 52

www.abingdon.org.uk 9 Diversity of Choice for Leavers 2019 was yet another successful summer for our sixth form leavers. 97% of Abingdonians who applied to UK universities achieved a place, with an impressive 85% of those gaining entry to their first-choice university. The spread of degree and university choices reflects a growing trend to seek out courses which appeal to each individual, in subjects ranging from natural sciences to philosophy, oceanography to nursing, classics to geography, drama to physics, environmental science to modern languages and computer science to biochemistry. While core subjects such as engineering (13 places), economics (15) and history (21) remain popular, this diversity of choice provides strong evidence that Abingdon is a school where talent in a wide range of disciplines is encouraged and boys who have the drive and support to pursue their particular area of interest are rewarded with places at the university of their choice. As with the subjects they choose to study at a higher level, our boys continue to show an increasing interest in a broader range of destinations. While Oxbridge remains a sought-after destination (with 6 at Oxford and 5 at Cambridge this year) and the usual favourites are still popular (Exeter 18, Durham 14, Warwick 11, Bristol 10), boys have also chosen universities which offer a breadth of contemporary and relevant courses: Bath, Brunel, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Loughborough, Nottingham Trent, Plymouth, SOAS. It is encouraging to see that boys are willing to seek out destinations whose degree courses will provide them with the knowledge and skills that will prepare them well for whatever future they aspire to, and to note that they have the confidence to forge their own path towards that goal. Caroline Taylor, Assistant Upper Master, Universities Eight prestigious Arkwright Scholarships Four lower sixth formers, Greg Lister, James Gibson, Will Shorrocks and Matthew Jones have been awarded Arkwright Scholarships bringing the total number of Arkwright Scholars in this year’s Sixth Form to eight - a school record. The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships is a programme from national STEM education charity, the Smallpeice Trust, which aims to inspire future leaders in engineering. More than 1,370 students applied and 415 were successful, receiving financial and mentoring support through their A-Levels. Abingdon School also sponsors an Arkwright Scholarship which this year went to a lower sixth form student at Wycombe High School. MFL Debating Competition Sixth formers studying French, Spanish and German put in an impressive performance at the Modern Foreign Languages Debating competition at Cheltenham College. All teams won a good number of individual debates with the German team of Will Wakelam and Ben Kiraikou convincing adjudicators in the final not only with their wide range of language, breadth and depth of argument but also with their ability to listen and respond to the opposition’s arguments on the question of whether we can learn from history - a topic many would have found a challenge to discuss in their mother tongue! Abingdon News Five of the eight sixth form Arkwright Scholars