Aspire Group

The Aspire Group is a dedicated weekly voluntary gathering for students who want additional support in preparation for access to leading research based universities in the country; the Russell Group (including Oxbridge). The highly competitive nature of achieving offers from these universities is helped with specific advice and guidance, as well as developing thinking skills in readiness for the learning environment at them. The Aspire Group encourages wider reading around different subjects, promotes critical thinking, explores global issues, dissects conceptual ways of understanding the world and provides a learning environment even more akin to the seminar style delivery found at the Russell Group universities. The group also explores applications preparation; from the evidence required in stand-out personal statements, to looking at stepping up from A to A* standard within A-Level, to communication techniques at interview; the group readies students for the task at hand. Some examples of the Aspire Group sessions are as follows: 

• Group debate on global issues; climate crisis, capitalism, international affairs 
• Philosophical Russell Group style interview questions 
• Individual and group presentations, exploring current affairs and big-picture thinking 
• GCHQ style puzzle problem solving 
• Analysing Oxbridge interviews  
• Reading around probing questions such as “is there such thing as an original thought” and “what now for Russia?” 
• Former students visiting Lady Lumley’s - offering insight into life at Russell Group universities and the application process 
• Verbal and non-verbal communication tips