Pupil Profiles

Emma Edson

What I like most about being an academic scholar is that I get to go to Think Tank to do fun, mindstretching activities. I also have great teachers who challenge me, and I’m encouraged to try my best and to believe in myself. This especially helps me in difficult challenges as I feel that I should give it a go - even if I don’t succeed at first. In lessons I hope to achieve my academic goals and truly be the best I can be. Being an academic scholar has definitely enhanced my time at Wells!

I am studying Biology, Chemistry, Geography and Geology in Sixth Form. Whilst these subjects are similar, they have their differences and are helping me have a much wider knowledge of the world around me. As an academic scholar, I get a wide variety of opportunities to expand my academic horizons; currently I am working on a TED Talk. This is exciting as it is an opportunity to work on skills that I haven’t worked on before such as research methods and public speaking.

Recent Highlights

Wells pupils have achieved success in many national and international competitions, including:

• Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge

• Campaign for Rural England Major Photography Prize

• Years 9/10 Millfield Maths Team Challenge

• National Geology Competition 2022

• Physics Olympiad

• Chemistry Olympiad

• British Maths Olympiad

• Southampton Junior Maths Challenge 2022.

Recent school activities have included:

• A seminar on “The Poetry, Life and Thought of Samuel Taylor Coleridge” by Literary Historian Stuart Andrews

• A professionally filmed and streamed performance of the examination set text “Our Country’s Good” by Timberlake Wertenbaker by pupils in Years 10+.

• Year 11 Maths Specialists taking IGCSE Maths in January and all achieving Grade 9

• Regular TED-Ed Student Talks

• Engineering Week, in which all pupils in Years 7 - 11 undertook an engineering challenge

• Higher Education Morning for parents and pupils

• Interview Day, in which sixth formers undertook practice interviews with external interviewers

• Dedicated educational trips to various venues in the UK, Europe and Africa

• A visit to the Year 10 Open Day at Lady Margaret Hall College, University of Oxford, to raise aspirations for competitive university applications.

Next Steps

We start the journey to higher education and offer advice and information on university courses, careers and vocational training that are geared towards each individual pupil. Our UCAS Advisor works closely with pupils as they begin to think about universities and careers. We organise visits to the UCAS fair and Oxford Colleges, practice interviews, work experience, and an information morning with a variety of talks for pupils in Lower Sixth. We have an Oxbridge Programme for Sixth Form pupils with a particularly strong academic profile. Our robust process of grade coaching offers an open process in which pupils are encouraged to participate fully in identifying targets and agreeing on realistic predicted UCAS grades. Our advisor is available if parents or pupils would like to discuss anything with support continuing through to results day and beyond!

Over the past five years, an average of 5-10% of pupils have achieved places at Oxbridge, with around 75% of pupils achieving places at Russell Group universities or conservatoires.