The Arkwright Scholarships Trust awarded me an engineering scholarship at the end of my fourth year of secondary school (in Scotland, equivalent to year 11 in England and Wales, and year 12 in Northern Ireland) after I made an application around Christmas time. The selection process involved first being nominated Read more…
Well, the easy answer is that’s it’s never too early! The recommendations below are based upon the UK GCSE and A level system. Early Secondary School At this stage, students have no or very little choice in what subjects they study. However, it is still a great time to start Read more…
Do you want to explore your passion for a STEM subject or find a way to demonstrate it on your sixth form/ university application, but don’t want to spend too much time, effort or money? Here’s some easy ways to do so cheaply at home! Online MOOCs MOOCs (Massive Open Read more…
Last year, I completed an Extended Project Qualification on the optimisation of the polymerase chain reaction and it’s applications in medical and forensic research. Apart from being a fascinating and complex topic, it also gave me the opportunity to carry out my own experiments – something which particularly interested an Read more…
Tim took part in the University of Cambridge Senior Physics Challenge in the summer of 2013, here is a summary of his experience: Every young person interested in physics has probably heard of quantum mechanics from popular science books or online articles. A strange idea with fascinating conclusions, but where Read more…
The Southampton University A level Science and Art Competition challenged entrants to write a short essay about current research carried out by the university’s physics department and/ or create a related piece of artwork. I chose to write and paint about their Astrophysics research, since this was an area that Read more…
I was very lucky to attend a Headstart General Science course at the University of East Anglia. It was a great experience – not only did I get to meet many new people as enthusiastic about science as me, but I also experienced studying science at a top university with Read more…
I attended a Physiology masterclass at Cambridge in year 12, and really enjoyed it. We attended a couple of lectures, which explored topics such as nerve signal transmission beyond the A level syllabus, and it was great to have the opportunity to get some advice on applying to Cambridge. The Read more…
I attended a taster day on Medical Engineering at QMUL in 2012. It was very interesting and useful – we first had a lecture on what Medical Engineers do and the structure of the course at QMUL, followed by several workshops, including one on redesigning mobility aids and another more Read more…