Cambridge History Trip

Last Thursday, a group of Year 10 students had the opportunity to visit Cambridge University to experience university life and to get a taste of studying history at such a high level. Our first stop was Queens' College, where we were greeted by Dr Gareth Atkins, a distinguished historian and a Fellow at the college. We were lucky enough to be given an insightful tour of the college by him, in which we were able to gain an understanding of the history of Queens’ College and what it might be like to study at Cambridge.

Later, Dr Atkins gave us a seminar-style lecture on assertion and authority in the River Thames in the 18th Century, following prior reading that we undertook before our visit. We all enjoyed learning about how the river affected the lives of many people at the time, and how crucial it was to the economy and everyday life. More importantly, we all left the seminar having learnt new skills as historians, as we were all challenged to analyse and think critically about particular sources and reflect on our reading.

After we had the opportunity to ask questions of our own to Dr Atkins regarding Cambridge or history in general, we started off on another stroll through the city towards St John’s College. On the way, we were able to look at several other colleges from the outside, like Trinity College, as well as coincidentally seeing some Old Wilsonians currently studying at the university. When we arrived at St John’s College, we met the college’s ambassadors, Theo Horch - an Old Wilsonian (Class of 2022) - and James, another student at St John’s. Once again, we were given a tour of the campus, which was definitely a highlight for many of us, as we were all impressed by the rich history, architecture and atmosphere of the college. Throughout the tour, Theo and James showed us what facilities are available at the university and told us about the accommodation options for students.

This was followed by a Q&A session with them, in which we had the opportunity to ask any other questions we had regarding university life. Importantly, we learnt how university students have more control over their learning, and we gained insight into the co-curricular activities present at the site. We especially found the opportunities for music and drama quite interesting, including many practice rooms around the college and performances throughout the year. Finally, before we completed our visit, we were joined by an admissions manager at St John’s, who was able to broaden our knowledge on the application process and clarify any further queries that we had.

Throughout this very useful visit to Cambridge, we can all say that we gained a new perspective on studying history at the highest academic level, as well as university life in general. It is worth mentioning that none of this would have been possible without Mr Cole and Mrs Berry, who organised this trip and accompanied us on the way – we are truly grateful for this experience!

Article written by Kaan and Payton (Year 10)

Ranveer (Year 10) commented:

'The Cambridge trip enabled me to get a glimpse into university life at Cambridge, with some emphasis on how studying history worked there. I found the seminar style session with Dr Atkins to be particularly interesting, as it showed how involved seminars really are, rewarding curiosity, not 'completely correct answers'.

The best experience for me though was the tour and then Q&A with Theo, an Old Wilsonian studying history at St John's College. Theo gave us a first-hand perspective on what life in Cambridge was like and then the Q&A session shed light on the application process and what universities value the most for this.'

Anthony (Year 10) shared the following:

'This trip was extremely useful and enjoyable for me because it gave me a much better understanding of university life. Seeing the opportunities and facilities available there helped me imagine what my own future could be like. It encouraged me to think more carefully about what I would like to do in the future, and Cambridge itself was much grander than I had expected.

Visiting the university made higher education seem more accessible to me, and overall it was a very valuable and exciting experience. The history we learnt was also very interesting. It linked closely to what we are currently studying in class and helped me better understand what life was like in 18th-century London.

Thank you for organising this trip and giving me the opportunity to visit Cambridge. It is a very inspiring place with a positive atmosphere and strong sense of community, and I found the time I spent there both educational and helpful.'