The Scheme is for students with little family history of attending University, who go to schools where few people progress to University. We especially welcome applications from those from WP (Widening Participation) backgrounds. Students beginning Year 12 in England and Wales, Year 13 in Northern Ireland, or S5 in Scotland, are eligible for the Shadowing Scheme. For 2024, we are also focused on students from Scotland and the North of England in particularly.
If you're in your penultimate year of secondary education and you meet some of the criteria listed above then the Shadowing Scheme is absolutely for you. We can't guarantee that you will love Cambridge or choose to apply to the University, but we can guarantee that you will leave the Scheme knowing a lot more about what it is really like to be a Cambridge student. We want you to have the support, experiences and information available for you to feel confident about whatever decisions you make about University. This includes building friendships with other prospective students, asking honest questions to current students, and having a Cambridge Admissions Tutor explain to you exactly how the process of applying to Cambridge works.
We would love you to come to Cambridge. The Scheme is put together to give you an authentic sense of what it is like here, behind all the myths and stereotypes, to see if you could love it too!