Easter Residentials for high achieving students 2025

Inspiring future Magdalene Members.

Over the Easter holidays, Magdalene hosted its annual residentials for students from our link areas of Merseyside, the Isle of Man, and North Wales.

Magdalene Residential

For our Merseyside and Isle of Man residential, we welcomed 46 Year 12 students from 19 different schools. They were split into three subject streams to take part in academic sessions aligned with their interests. The groups followed a busy but inspiring timetable filled with academic sessions and department visits.

The Biological Sciences group visited the Department of Genetics and ran their own experiments; toured the Sedgewick Museum of Earth Sciences; and received a UCAT masterclass from a brilliant Magdalene Medicine student.

The Physical Sciences group took part in classes at the Engineering Department, and Dr Zach Bond delivered an excellent Chemical Engineering taster at the West Cambridge Laboratory. Alongside a Mathematics problem-solving session for these students, Admissions Tutor for Outreach Dr Bacallado also led a masterclass on admissions assessments for STEM subjects.

Dr Simon Ravenscroft and Professor Brendan Burchell delivered taster lectures in their respective fields for the Arts and Humanities group. The students also took part in sessions at the English Faculty and the University Library, and managed to fit in a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Outside of academic sessions, students enjoyed a punting trip, College tours, and a fantastic formal dinner in Magdalene’s dining hall. The residential attendees managed to experience all facets of the Cambridge student experience.

We are proud to say, of the Magdalene Residential participants, 67% met at least one of the University of Cambridge Widening Participation criteria:

• 39% would be the first in their family to go to university
• 24% are eligible for Free School Meals or Pupil Premiu
• 33% identify as belonging to an ethnic minority

When reflecting on the residential, students demonstrated a noticeable increase in both their confidence and understanding of applying to higher education. At the start of the week, 68% expressed they ‘definitely’ wanted to apply to a competitive university like Cambridge. By the end of the week, this figure had risen to 86%.

93% said they understood what it would be like to study at a university like Cambridge, compared to 26% at the beginning of the week.

Seren Residential

Collaborating with Churchill College and the Seren Network, we hosted over 80 high-achieving students from across Wales.

The Arts and Humanities students were hosted by Magdalene, allowing us to tailor our academic sessions to their interests. We partnered with Churchill College for evening activities, which included a delightful formal in Churchill’s dining hall.

Dr Ravenscroft and Professor Burchell repeated their taster lectures for the Seren group, and the students also enjoyed visits to the Law and English Faculties. They took part in a critical thinking workshop at the University Library, along with several alternative College tours. All groups attended a session on personal statements, admissions tests, and the Cambridge interview.

We are incredibly proud of the positive feedback received, and hope to see many participants applying to the University of Cambridge for 2026 entry!

Contact Magdalene Academic Office

The Academic Office is responsible for all enquiries about undergraduate and postgraduate studies, and admissions. Please use the relevant contact should you have any enquiries.

Undergraduate
E admissions@magd.cam.ac.uk
T 01223 332135

Postgraduate
E postgraduates@magd.cam.ac.uk
T 01223 332002