Advanced Academy

If you are aiming high and planning to go on to University or into a professional career, joining the Advanced Academy will provide the highest specialist level of support, advice and guidance available and provide new opportunities to enhance your application and CV.

Joining the Itchen College Advanced Academy will enable you to benefit from:

Enhanced examination results - AS Critical Thinking will increase your points score
Visits to local Universities
University Summer Schools
Practice interviews
Specialist mentoring for Oxbridge, Medical Science and Veterinary Science
Special 'compacts' to ease entry to university for our students
A highly praised and accredited programme to help with decision making
Work-shadowing professionals
CV building courses
Extensive Enrichment Programmes, including Music, Drama, Service and Sport
Individual Careers Advice
Dedicated Tutor Groups

From September 2007 Itchen College will also be running the GATEway group for exceptional students.

Our new GATEway group (Gifted and Talented Extension group) is an exciting development of the Advanced Academy. It provides for the most academically able students within the College, including those who wish to apply for Oxford or Cambridge.

Why have we created the GATEway group?

Winning a place at university is getting more and more competitive, with many students gaining A grades at A Level. There may soon be an A* at A level and universities are increasingly using entrance tests. The personal statement is more vital than ever in demonstrating the skills and wider interests that make you an outstanding candidate. The Gateway group is designed to help you fulfil your academic potential and win the university place you want.

The GATEway group aims to:

Develop you as an independent student with a real pleasure in learning
Extend and widen your academic and cultural interests
Support you in making an outstanding university application

How do I join the GATEway group?

In the first instance, qualifying students will be identified after GCSE results and selected for the group at enrolment. Initial selection for this prestigious group uses similar criteria to those used at The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth run by Warwick University.

In terms of GCSE results this means scoring 58+ points on your best 8 results (where A* = 8 points, A =7 and B = 6 etc). Selection can also be on the basis of outstanding talent in music or performance for example. Further opportunities to join the GATEway group are available based on achievement and staff recommendations during the first year at college.

What does being in the GATEway group involve?

GATEway students are part of a dedicated tutor group and also benefit from an extension programme which is designed to expand students’ wider academic and cultural experience and enhance the skills required for university application.

You will be in a group with people of similar academic ability from across the college. You will meet three times a week, one of these sessions will be part of your normal college tutorial provision. In addition you will take part in the GATEway enrichment and extension programme, detailed opposite.

Your tutor will be someone with specialist experience in supporting applications to universities like Oxford and Cambridge. You will also have sessions with an Arts and Humanities specialist and a Sciences specialist as we work to broaden your ideas and experiences. Every session will be a challenge and fun as you work with people with quite different outlooks and perspectives when artist meets scientist and historian challenges mathematician.

What will the programme involve?

An early visit to a university like Oxford
Regular lively debates on matters of the moment to sharpen your argument skills
Competitions, puzzles and games to develop your thinking and reasoning skills
A regular news quiz to keep you abreast of current affairs
Hosting social events to develop your interpersonal skills and confidence
Academic research and referencing skills
Activities and games to hone your verbal dexterity
Visits to art galleries, the cinema, museums and the theatre
Arranging visiting speakers
Reserved places on trips (eg Berlin, New York, China)
An interview workshop run by Oxford University and filmed individual interview practices and feedback
Support and preparation for university entrance exams like the BMAT (Biomedical Admissions Test), the UKCAT (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) and the LNAT (National Admissions Test for Law)

The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth

All Itchen`s GATEway students are automatically recommended by the college for entry to this National Academy.

Membership of the academy provides internet access to advice about higher education, online study courses and materials, discussion groups and one-day/residential courses and conferences led by university staff.

For more information about the Itchen GATEway contact Shaun O`Toole (Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator) on 02380435636 ex 255