Ashbourne College Blog

Every year, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge attract the best applicants from the UK and all over the world. The admissions at these universities are famously competitive with top entry requirements, challenging admissions tests and interview questions that go beyond A-level studies. The Ashbourne Oxbridge Entry Programme (AOP) is designed to give our students the best possible preparation to secure a place at Oxford or Cambridge University. The year-long Programme is run by Will Stockland, our Head of Faculty for Culture and Society, and Chris Masters, our Admissions Advisor.

Ashbourne is hosting a Literature Essay Competition open to anybody between the ages of 14 and 17. Entrants are asked to write an essay of no less than 1000 words including footnotes and appendices on the question below: “If human nature does alter, it will be because individuals manage to look at themselves in a new way.” E.M Forster Literature can have a powerful and formative impact on our personal perspectives. Tell us about a piece of prose, poetry or drama that changed your outlook or perspective. You must focus on one text only, however others can be referenced. You Continue Reading →

Ashbourne’s performing arts students hit the stage at the LAMDA, Hammersmith, from 2nd to 5th March, to showcase their talents. Our GCSE and A level Drama students will be performing a selection of works during Ashbourne Drama Week that will be examined and go towards their final qualifications. Performances include two award-winning plays Ernest and the Pale Moon, a gothic horror by Oliver Lansley and The Nether, a sci-fi crime drama by Jennifer Haley, as well as two creative pieces devised by the students, Årsgång and Mummy Dearest and Dead.     The students perform at the London Academy of Continue Reading →

Joy Adeogun is a scholarship student and Student President at Ashbourne studying A level English, Drama and Maths. She was awarded a full drama scholarship at the College. Here she gives tips on taking the auditions, talks about the scholarship programme and describes what it’s like studying at Ashbourne. How did you find out about Ashbourne’s scholarship programme? I was online searching for ‘Drama Scholarships A-Level’ and I believe Ashbourne was one of the first entries to come up and so I clicked on the website and began reading the process as well as some of the testimonials which sounded really positive and encouraging. Continue Reading →

The Ashbourne Revue is one of the biggest events in our calendar. Students and staff from across the college come together to create and perform a very popular show, showcasing their skills and talents in art, fashion, music, dance and drama. This spectacular event, which takes place at Christmas, has been running for more than two decades. Today’s performances include acting, comedy, cultural display, drumming ensembles, fashion catwalks, football skills, graphic design, musical performance, modern dance, traditional dance and much more. The show usually pulls in a huge audience. The Revue is a real highlight of the college year and Continue Reading →

More than 30,000 courses became available through Ucas clearing last Thursday (15/08/2019). One in eight university entrants arrived through Clearing last year – a total of 66,700 students. This number is expected to rise this year with top grades dropping to the lowest proportion in over a decade. With universities more anxious than ever to fill their places, students have found themselves in incredibly strong positions this year, with many institutions still considering and looking for students. Ucas has made it easier for prospective students to switch courses even if they have already confirmed their place – previously students had Continue Reading →

Soala is an ex Asher who has just recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a First class degree in Architecture. This week, we interviewed her to find out more about her amazing achievement, her time at Cambridge and how Ashbourne prepared her for and participated in her higher education academic life.   Soala, first of all, congratulations on your amazing achievement! Could you start by telling me what subjects you studied at Ashbourne? ‘Thank you! I studied Fine Art, History of Art, Physics, and Mathematics.’   How did Ashbourne help you prepare for your application to Cambridge? ‘The Continue Reading →

With great pleasure we announce that 8 out of 9 of our Medical Programme students achieved their university offers and are now off to medical/dental school in September. Ben A. – Dentistry at Cardiff Will M. – Medicine at Newcastle Chandni T. – Dentistry at Sheffield Lillian N. – Medicine at King’s College London Hanna M. – Medicine at Imperial Teni O. – Medicine at Manchester Paria M. – Dentistry at Cardiff Ashbourne’s Medical School Programme is designed to give students the best possible chance of entering to a UK medical school. We offer individual attention and support throughout the whole application process, as well as running Continue Reading →