Access and Outreach
at Clare College
Working with students of all ages to
raise educational aspirations
Introducing Clare College
Cambridge’s second oldest college (founded 1326) boasts 17th-century architecture, stunning gardens and a riverside location in the heart of the city.
Warm, forward-looking and with a reputation for academic excellence, Clare welcomes students of all backgrounds.
We're moving online!
Due to face-to-face interactions being limited, we are moving online!
Interested in applying to university?
Watch Dr Chris Scott's videos on YouTube for lots of helpful content. His first video introduces some of the plans we have to continue our interaction with schools over the coming weeks...
Our YouTube content will include:
the Cambridge University application process
super-curricular information
taster lectures from academic staff
Q&As with current university students studying at Clare College
Click this link button to find out more!
Don't forget to follow us on social media!
Continue reading this page to learn more about how we work with students of all ages to raise educational aspirations...
What we do...
At Clare we work with school students of all ages to raise their educational aspirations. This can take the form of hosting individual school visits here in the College, organising larger, multi-school events like our Interview Preparation Day, and coming to talk or run workshops within schools themselves!
Whilst part of our goal is to encourage talented students to apply to the College from all backgrounds and educational sectors, a lot of our work is focused simply on raising aspirations, and encouraging school students to aim high when it comes to university.
Visit Clare
The College regularly hosts day visits for small, class-sized groups from individual schools, primarily from our link areas in Coventry and Warwickshire in the West of England, and Tower Hamlets and Hackney in London.
For more information about Cambridge’s Area Links scheme, please use the link below:
Visiting Clare College
Your visit to Clare can involve some of the following:
a tour of College
a Q&A sessions with current undergraduate students
a sample lecture from an academic
small group teaching (Cambridge-supervision-style) led by PhD students
a trip to and dedicated session at a local museum
an information and guidance session about university in general, Clare and Cambridge in particular, the Cambridge admissions process, etc. (tailored to age group).
For schools attending from our link areas, please ask us about travel reimbursements...
If you would be interested in arranging a visit, feel free to email us on schools@clare.cam.ac.uk.
Visiting your School
Our Schools Liaison Officer, Dr Chris Scott, regularly goes into schools to speak to a range of year groups about university, Clare, and the kinds of characteristics we look for in an applicant.
We also work with teachers!
We conduct guidance sessions which aim to provide as much information as possible to help staff assist pupils in the Cambridge application process.
For example, we provide advice on personal statements, teachers’ references, interviews, and so on...
If you would like to arrange a trip to your school, please email schools@clare.cam.ac.uk.
Meet the Team
Rachel Chiodo
Clare College Schools Liaison Officer
I attended state schools in Surrey and completed my BA in modern languages at the University of Kent. I was part of an outreach programme in my final year of undergraduate study, which sparked my interest to work closely with young people. Having then trained to be a secondary school teacher and gaining experience working in Norfolk, as well as abroad in Italy and Switzerland, I decided to take up this role.
I’m very committed to widening participation to universities and I want to ensure that students are given the information they need to make an informed decision about their higher education.
Aga Niewiadomska
The Union of Clare Students Access Officer
The Union of Clare Students (The UCS) has their own representative who is responsible for sharing our work with the undergraduate student body and recruiting undergraduates to get involved in our work. They also organise the annual Shadowing Scheme in conjunction with CUSU.
I’m Aga Niewiadomska (she/her) and I am the access officer this year. I study computer science and am incredibly excited about making Clare more accessible to students of all backgrounds. My main aim is to try to show students that their background has no impact on whether or not they belong here, by running outreach events and making sure that schools in our link areas are aware of them, and the financial assistance Clare has to offer. In my free time, I love watching awful films with my friends and singing, especially when I’m accompanied by people more musically gifted than me!
Dr Edgar Turner
Fellow and Tutor for Access and Outreach
I am a conservation scientist, who researches strategies that can be employed to conserve species diversity and healthy ecosystem functioning both in the UK and abroad. In particular, I am interested in understanding how landscapes can be managed to maintain biodiversity and healthy functioning ecosystems, while still allowing agricultural development to take place.
In Sumatra, Indonesia I work on the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme investigating management strategies to increase biodiversity in oil palm plantations without impacting yield. In Sabah, Malaysia I work with the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) Project that experimentally investigates the impact of rainforest fragmentation and conversion to agriculture on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In the UK, I collaborate with the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust, investigating insect diversity and management on chalk grassland reserves.
Outside of my research, I enjoy science communication, particularly about the natural world and conservation. As part of this, I am Tutor for Access and Outreach at Clare College, manage the Public Engagement Team at the University Museum of Zoology, and am chairman of the Cambridge Local Group of the Wildlife Trust.
Open Days in 2021
Virtual Open Day
Friday 17th September 2021
11am-1pm and 3-4pm
Schedule of events:
11am - Live Q+A with Clare's Admissions Tutors, Dr Timothy Chesters (Arts) and Professor Howard Griffiths (Sciences)
12pm - Live Q+A with current Clare students from a range of subjects
3pm - Live Information Session on the Natural Sciences Tripos at Clare with Professor Howard Griffiths
Registration is now open. You are welcome to attend as many sessions as you like; registration covers attendance at all three of Clare’s sessions. The Zoom links for each session will be emailed to you shortly before the event. You will be able to submit questions during all three sessions using the 'chat' function on Zoom. You are also welcome to submit questions in advance by emailing schoolsliaison@clare.cam.ac.uk or sending a DM to our Twitter account, @ClareSchools.
Information about admissions is available on the College website:
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