The North West Science Residential is a residential event for Year 12s, hosted annually at Queen’s College during the Easter holidays.
This event is a chance for students in our link areas of Cumbria, Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen to get a taster of what it might be like to live and study at Oxford University.
Applications for our 2023 North West Science Residential are now CLOSED.
You can find information below about what the residential involves, eligibility criteria and how to apply.
Please refer to this page next year for details on applying for 2024.
Attendees stay in undergraduate accommodation, eat in the college Hall, and attend lectures, seminars and labs covering a variety of different sciences that they could study at Oxford. All attendees will go to a tutorial (special small group teaching session) and will also have the chance to quiz current undergraduates about what being an Oxford student is really like. Whilst on the programme, students will receive advice on how to make a competitive application to Oxbridge, how to write a great personal statement, and how to prepare for a university interview.
Applications are welcomed from Year 12s studying sciences at state schools in Cumbria, Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen. If you’re unsure if your school is in the right area, you can contact us at schools.liaison@queens.ox.ac.uk to check. Applicants should be on track to achieve at least AAA in their A levels or 38-40 points in the IB, with 6s and 7s in the higher-level subjects and should be considering applying to Oxford or Cambridge. A current teacher must submit a brief statement of support alongside your application, detailing why they think you should receive a place.
Please complete our application form by 10pm on Friday 17th February 2023. Teachers will be contacted to provide a reference by Friday 3rd March 2023. Applicants will be notified about the outcome of their application by Wednesday 8th March 2023.
As part of the application process, students will need to provide the name and email address of a current teacher who will act as a reference for them. Once the student has submitted their application, their teacher will be contacted by email and asked to write a brief paragraph of reference. Consent forms and information packs will then be sent by email to successful applicants – forms will need to be completed and returned to confirm your place.
If a large number of applications are received, applicants’ grades and teachers’ support statements are considered alongside other criteria, with priority given to those who will be the first in their families to go to university, are receiving or have received Free School Meals, are or have been in care, or whose parents are in receipt of a means tested benefit. We will also consider whether students live in areas with high levels of socio-economic deprivation and/or in areas with low rates of progression to higher education.
I loved the tutorials and getting used to academic discussions with Oxford tutors. I was inspired to do more further reading and it was great to meet like-minded people who are preparing in the same ways as me.
It was a very good event and I feel much more confident about the application process.