Students celebrate Oxbridge success

It is an exciting time in the Sixth Form Centre as offers continue to roll in for a range of competitive courses at universities across the country.

Among the offers received are four for Oxford and Cambridge; following a long and highly competitive application process, three current Upper Sixth students and one 2025 leaver are holding offers for the two prestigious universities.

Head of Sixth Form, Josh Carter, congratulated them on their success.

He said: “The Oxbridge application process is notoriously demanding and the success of these students is a reflection of their hard work and determination throughout the process. They should be very proud of themselves.”

Our four Oxbridge offer holders are:

• Connie Dawson (U6WER) – German and Spanish (ab initio) at Magdalene College, Cambridge
• Evie Mallinson (U6WER) – History at Selwyn College, Cambridge
• James Phillips (U6DUT) – Music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
• Zach Hard Af Segerstad-Smith (2025 Leaver) – Music at St Hilda’s College, Oxford

In King’s Sixth Form, preparation for university applications begins in Lower Sixth with a focus on advising and encouraging students to make the choice that is right for them.

Evie, who secured an offer for History at Cambridge, is grateful for the support she received from departmental staff. She said: “Mrs Chadwick and Mr Neal have been a great support during the application process, and Mr Carter was fantastic at helping me prepare for my interviews.”

Zach, who left in 2025, praised the support he received from staff at King’s even after he left school. He said: “I made a conscious decision not to apply to university whilst I was in Sixth Form and waited until I had my A level grades in-hand. 

“Applying as a former student, I still received so much support from the Sixth Form team and other members of staff at King’s. I would particularly like to thank Mr Millard whose help with interview preparation was invaluable.”

Throughout their time in Sixth Form, all four students took advantage of the range of co-curricular and Enrichment opportunities that are available to help students strengthen their university applications.

Mr Carter again: “Our Sixth Formers have access to so much assistance.

“For example, our Sixth Form and Staff reading group introduces students to academic articles and research that go beyond the A level specification, and the Pudding Lectures – a long-established King’s institution – give Lower Sixth students an opportunity to engage with their peers and staff on an academic level by presenting, and fielding questions on, a topic of interest to them.”

University offers will continue to come in over the coming months and we look forward to sharing more good news from the Sixth Form soon.