The High Achievers’ Programme supports the most academically able students at Priestley, giving them the skills necessary for success at Priestley and beyond, and embed the super curricular into their academic life.
The thought is that by having sessions on the skills, mostly academic, for success at the most competitive universities, the confidence needed to put in an application follows.
What we offer..
- Weekly Sessions with the High Achievers’ Tutor: Students meet for one hour per week with the tutor and complete activities to bolster their academic skills outside of the standard curriculum. These sessions include things like building resource banks, giving presentations on topics that students are interested in and academic writing workshops.
- 1-1 Support: This support runs throughout students’ time at Priestley, from considering degree choices to 1-1 subject exploration sessions, personal statement support, and mock interviews.
- Trips and Visits: Students have the opportunity to visit universities like Oxford and Lancaster.
- Lectures: Our Lecture Series brings together teachers, early career researchers and professionals and allows students to see where their intellectual curiosity may take them.
- Specialist Feedback on university applications: Students begin thinking about university applications much earlier than others and are therefore able to get more support and feedback from the High Achievers’ Programme Tutor.
Lecture Series
What our students say
@priestleycollege Meet Erin, one of our outstanding early applicants! ✨ Currently studying English, Religious Studies and Philosophy at Priestley, Erin has achieved the incredible milestone of receiving an offer from Oxford to study Philosophy and Theology. We caught up with her to hear all about the application process, what it was like applying to Oxford, and how she felt when she received the news. It’s an absolutely amazing achievement and a testament to her dedication and passion for her subjects — we couldn’t be prouder! #priestleycollege #oxford #success #applicant #future
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@priestleycollege Meet Ella ✨ One of our incredible students who has received an early offer to study at University of Oxford! Currently studying Psychology, Photography and Philosophy at Priestley, Ella could be heading to Pembroke College, Oxford to study Psychology and Linguistics. 🎓 We asked Ella all about the application journey and what it takes to secure an Oxford offer. A huge thank you to Guy Smith and Chris Peacock for leading our High Achievers’ Programme and supporting students in achieving their dream destinations. #priestleycollege #oxford #success #applicant #studying
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@priestleycollege Meet Evie, one of our fantastic early applicants to the University of Oxford! 🎓✨ Evie is heading off to study Japanese at Balliol College, Oxford — an incredible achievement and a true testament to her hard work and dedication. We had the opportunity to sit down with her to talk about the journey to receiving her Oxford offer, what the application process was really like, and the advice she would give to our future high achievers hoping to secure their own place at Oxford one day. Huge congratulations to Evie on her offer to her dream destination. Wishing you every success for the exciting journey ahead from everyone here at Priestley 💙 #priestleycollege #studentsuccess #languages #oxford #future
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Who is the High Achievers' Programme for?
The High Achievers’ Programme falls under our EXCEL provision and is targeted at students with an average GCSE score of 7 or above, though applications are considered on a case-by-case basis and we would not deny any student who wishes to enrol the opportunity to do so.
Lecture Series
- The Lecture Series runs weekly on Wednesday afternoons in our Autumn and Spring Terms.
- It brings together teachers, early career researchers and professionals helps to give students an insight into where students’ intellectual curiosity can take them.
Graduate Magazine
Those on our High Achievers’ Programme produce ‘The Graduate Magazine’ – a platform for their super-curricular work. This ranges from award-winning essays to book reviews and investigative articles.
What the students say..
Hear from Cameron Matthews who is studying Philosophy and Theology at Oxford and Amber Ford who is studying Medicine.
Meg Byrom edited the student newspaper at Cambridge University where Jake Burke is also studying Philosophy.