Emily Morbey, a former Sixth Form student at Selby College, returned to the College to speak to students about her experience studying at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

As part of Careers Week at the College, Emily delivered a talk to current Sixth Form students – giving them the opportunity to hear first hand what it is like to study at two of the world’s most prestigious institutions.

After completing her A Levels in 2019 with three A*s in English Language, Maths and Biology, Emily secured a place at the University of Oxford to study for a Bachelors Degree in Human Sciences which she achieved a First Class Honours in.

Following this, Emily completed a Master of Philosophy in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge and is now a PhD student in the MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge.

Emily credited her tutors at Selby College for their attentive support during her A Levels which pushed her to succeed.

I particularly enjoyed the small class sizes in each of my lessons as this meant that tutors were able to give a lot of attention to each student and I always felt happy with the content being delivered. My tutors were incredibly generous with their time and marked and provided feedback for all my pass papers that I had written when I was sitting my exams.

Ultimately, my time at Selby College was instrumental in my academic journey as the flexibility of my A Level options meant I kept many academic doors open and developed both literary and scientific skills. I found this was incredibly important when studying higher-levels of academia.

Emily delivered a talk on epidemiology where she discussed the research she is currently undertaking as part of her doctorate, as well as answered questions about her undergraduate degree and what it entailed.

Listening to the Selby College alumna, the A Level students learned about the various fields they could work in and the diversity of career pathways available for those studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects.

It was inspiring to hear from Emily and she gave us a real insight into university life at Oxbridge and tips for applying. I learned that someone like me, from Selby College, with hard work and some luck, can follow an academic route to Oxbridge.