English Archives - Greenhead College

27 students secure coveted places at Oxbridge Universities

Posted on February 2, 2024February 20, 2024 by Emily Thompson

We are thrilled to reveal that 27 students have secured offers to study at the prestigious Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

This is an exceptional achievement following a rigorous application process, involving admissions tests and multiple interviews, competing for coveted places against a worldwide field of applicants.

Offers have been made in a range of disciplines including Computer Science, Law, English, Chemistry Biological Natural Sciences, Economics, History, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Archaeology, Experimental Psychology, Physics and more.

Bella Craig, who came to Greenhead College from Salendine Nook High School, secured her offer to study French and Spanish at Oxford University said:

“For future applicants, I’d say to believe in yourself, believe that anything is possible and be open and honest on your personal statement.”

Laura Verdina, who came to Greenhead College from Dixon’s City Academy, secured her offer for Cambridge University to study Biological Natural Sciences said:

“The support at College is really great, I had a mock interview for my subject before my actual interview and that really helped me be prepared and understand what it might feel like to go through an academic interview.”

Greenhead College remains to be the leading state educational institution in the North of England for Oxbridge success. Aspiring students benefit from a dedicated Oxbridge Support Enrichment Programme, comprising of masterclasses, mock interview workshops, dedicated Oxbridge admissions tutors, residential visits, and practice admissions tests.

Richard Pember, Oxbridge Coordinator at Greenhead College commented:

“I’d like to offer my congratulations on behalf of the Oxbridge Team at Greenhead. We have an incredibly talented team who support the students in small group sessions to help them through the application process. We’re immensely proud of the 27 students who received offers; it’s an amazing achievement. Competition becomes more acute year on year, and for Greenhead to remain the most successful school or college outside the South East is a reflection on our wonderful students and staff.”

Congratulations to the following students:

Name	University	Discipline	Previous School
Aaron Crosbie	Cambridge	Computer science	Royds hall
Abdullah Aziz	Oxford	Law	Halifax Academy
Akshat Kothari	Cambridge	Engineering	Trinity Academy Halifax
Anna Bentham	Cambridge	HSPS	Thornhill Community Academy
Bella Craig	Oxford	Modern Languages	Salendine Nook High School Academy
Ben Cooper	Cambridge	Engineering	Beckfoot School Bingley
Brook Seed	Cambridge	Natural Sciences Bio	King James’s School
Elizabeth Kay	Cambridge	History and Modern Languages (French)	Horizon Community College
Emily Oliver	Cambridge	Law	Holmfirth High School
Emma Nelson	Cambridge	English	Holmfirth
Esther Boutle	Oxford	Law	Ossett Academy
George Selby	Cambridge	Architecture	Whitcliffe Mount
Harry Cross	Cambridge	History	Netherhall Learning Campus Highschool
Haydn Clifton	Cambridge	Archaeology	Penistone Grammar School
Izzy Rouse	Oxford	Physics	Horbury Academy
Jacob Lord	Cambridge	Biological Natural Sciences	Holmfirth high
Jeremy Stocks	Cambridge	Mathematics	Honley High School
Julia Millington	Cambridge	Economics	Heckmondwike Grammar School
Laura Verdina	Cambridge	Biological Natural Sciences	Dixons City Academy
Leela Beth Guha	Cambridge	History	Calder high school
Megan Coleman	Oxford	Chemistry	Whitcliffe Mount
Mia Yates	Oxford	Biochemistry	The Mirfield Free Grammar
Miriam Lomas	Cambridge	History	Holmfirth High School
Nina Rainbow	Oxford	Biochemistry	North Halifax Grammar School
Rowan Harrison-Walker	Oxford	Mathematics	Ryburn Valley High School
Sam Franks	Oxford	Philosophy, Politics and Economics	Rastrick High School

GC Alumna Nicole celebrates national journalism success

Posted on December 18, 2020July 21, 2021 by admin

Our very own GC Alumna, Nicole Bower, is celebrating as her heartwarming news article is published in the national press.

Her article shares the story of a 7 year old boy, Stanley, who was inspired by Marcus Rashford’s Free School Meals campaign, fighting for underprivileged children to have access to food during the holidays. Stanley, who starred in a recent advert for cadbury’s, has hand-written letters and delivered to his neighbours asking them to donate food.

Nicole, who studied English Literature, Politics and Modern History at Greenhead College from 2018-2020, is delighted to be able to share Stanley’s story and we are so proud of her success. Click here to read the full story.

Commenting on the article, Nicole, now a student at the Manchester School of Journalism, said:

“I saw a post on Facebook about the little boy sending letters to his neighbours for food in aid to help the free school meals campaign and spoke to his mum only thinking it would be a little story but the national paper ended up wanting it! Even though I don’t have a by-line I can still proudly say that I sourced, interviewed and wrote the story!”

“The advice I’d give to other students wanting to get into journalism would be just to be confident and know your stuff. This will come in really handy when wanting to interview people, even if you aren’t a employed journalist tell them that you are a journalist because anyone can actually be one, they will be more likely to speak to you then. You also have to show you are interested not just for the title but show that you are interested because you love doing it, write articles and stories on things you like, hobbies, reviews, this will all show to employers or universities that you really really want to do it. And especially, no story is too small, you never know where it might end up or who likes it!”

A huge congratulations Nicole, we can’t wait to see even more of your stories hit the headlines in the future!

A2 Student, Orla becomes co-founder of female journalism website “Empoword Journalism”

Posted on July 10, 2020July 21, 2021 by admin

During the lockdown period, A2 student Orla McAndrew has shown initiative, creativity and determination as she, along with a group of young women, established the brand new website and project ‘Empoword Journalism’.

Founded in May 2020, ‘Empoword Journalism’ is a project which spans across multiple platforms and is led by self-identifying women. It is a place for entry-level journalists to engage and connect with others.

It all began after Orla and her team attended a zoom chat called ‘An Evening with 5 Fabulous Females in Journalism’. It soon became apparent that Orla shared similar views to other budding journalists in feeling that females are under-represented and that it is currently a huge challenge for women to break into the industry. ‘Empoword Journalism’ was then created as an accessible platform for young journalists.

Ever since then, over 100 articles have been created by over 70 contributors, which have covered a range of topics, and they are on the lookout for more!

If you would like to contribute to the website then you can join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/669865370255616

When talking about the project for their 100th post, Orla commented:

“This project is important because it unites women across the country; creating a network of women and non-binary journalists. This network is key to support journalists emerging into a male-dominated industry where it is difficult to be taken seriously. I’m so excited to see where this project will go and to work with/learn from these incredible women”.

Check out the ‘Empoword Journalism’ website here: https://empowordjournalism.com/

This is an outstanding, passionate project and we wish Orla every success as she embarks on her new journey.