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Skills Workshops
Skills Workshops are always a favourite amongst our students. In
the afternoons of many days throughout the summer school, students are
brought together in larger groups to develop further academic skills.
The skills that students focus on in these sessions relate
directly to university entrance.
The
Personal
Statement and
Interview Workshops
examine different parts of the university entrance process. These
sessions are run by an external organisation, who help thousands of
university
applicants every year.
Our
Debating and
Lateral
Thinking
Workshops
are designed to get students
to think
about how they present their thoughts in a discussion, which is
extremely important for university interviews.
Debating Workshop
In the first part of
the Debating Workshop
our students
get a hands-on,
interactive introduction to debating. Everyone will learn how to debate and
to speak in public.
The
workshop is
led by debating
experts including Bobby Seagull, a former semi-finalist in the World
Universities Public Speaking Championship.
Then we will visit
the Oxford Union (see picture above), the world's most famous debating
society, situated in the heart of the
University.
A recent former Oxford Union President will be chairing and judging our
Debating Competition, which will take place in the Union. This is a chance
for you to put into practice the skills learnt in the training and make an
impassioned speech to blow the judges away. This is always a favourite
amongst our students.
Essay Writing Workshop
If you are studying
a humanities
subject,
such as English or History, you will take part in our Essay Writing
Workshop, designed to perfect your skills in presenting an interesting and
concise argument. This session is an introduction to the higher
essay writing
standards expected of undergraduates and is excellent training for
university aptitude tests as well as exams.
This session takes you back to the foundations of essay writing. You will learn about choosing your title, picking it apart and writing an attention-grabbing, original essay and many more important hints.
Problem Solving Workshop
For the
scientists in the group, there will be a problem solving techniques session.
You will have to use your brain to solve numerous physical and mental
problems under time pressure. Can you create a casing to protect an egg from
breaking when thrown from the top of a building? Probably not. How about
when it’s dropped from a height of 1 metre? Come and find out…
These skills will
be useful for interviews as well as the problems tackled in undergraduate
learning.
Personal Statement Workshop
Most universities ask applicants to
fill in a Personal Statement, outlining why you would be a good candidate
for your course. During
our session, you will learn all about
the art of creating a Personal
Statement. We will take you through the
UCAS form and the place of the Personal Statement.
You will discuss the all-important first paragraph and analyse the qualities
of an excellent Personal Statement. By the end you
will have an excellent foundation for the first draft and beyond.
If you’ve already
started drafting your Personal Statement, bring it
along and we will be happy to offer help and
suggestions.
If you’ve been worrying about
interviews in the future
then this session will put your mind at ease. Staff from
Career Interview Coaching
will talk you through the whole interview process,
from how to answer the most difficult questions to handling your nerves. You
will learn about the importance of interviews in the admissions
and career process, how to
prepare and how to impress your interviewers.
This is great experience for
interviews throughout your life and not just for university. You will even
get a chance to practise all the skills you have learnt in a mock interview.
There will also be a talk on admissions and
interviews led by Barbara
Shellard, a former Oxford University
tutor.
This session is all about thinking
outside the box. Building on your interview skills, we will consider
alternative and unique ways of approaching problems. You will learn about
different ways of analyzing situations and try to break free from
predictable patterns. Whilst critical thinking makes you look at the
problems, lateral thinking is about suggesting inventive solutions. Can you
think of a better way to design a biscuit, an umbrella, a glass?
For more information on the how the workshops lectures are structured please view our timetable.