Christ's College is where the famous biologist, naturalist and father of evolutionary biology, Charles Darwin studied. Cambridge has changed a lot since Darwin's time, but it still fosters great young scientists. Our outreach officers run an annual Year 12 Biological Sciences Taster Series. The series takes place online from late February culminating in a visit to Christ's in-person in March.
Applications are now closed. Students who have applied will receive an email with the outcome of your application by end of Mon 19 Feb (23:59). Please check your spam/junk folder if you cannot see this on Tues 20 Feb. If you are given a place, you will then need to complete a Place Confirmation and Permissions Form by 9am on Wed 21 Feb (we will send you the link for this by email).
Eligibility
This annual Taster Series is aimed at academically able students who are considering an application for Natural Sciences (Biological) at Cambridge and meet all of the criteria below:
- you are in Year 12 England or Wales, S5 Scotland or Y13 Northern Ireland.
- you attend an academy, school or college that does not charge fees (to anyone) and had less than 50 Oxbridge offers last year;
- you are studying Biology, Chemistry, and Maths* for A level, IB Higher Level or Scottish Higher, or equivalent;
- you are interested in exploring biological sciences beyond the standard school curriculum.
* For students taking the IB, your Higher Level Maths must be 'Analysis and Approaches'.
Theme and content
The annual Biological Sciences Taster Series is themed around Charles Darwin's life, work and impact, with sessions given by academics in Natural Sciences, chance to chat with current students studying science, and a tour of the College. It normally also includes a session on applications for Natural Sciences (Biological) and plenty of opportunities to ask questions.
"I enjoyed getting an insight on the weekly lives of students from students themselves."
Apply for the Biological Sciences Taster Series
Applications are now closed.
Those offered a place are expected to attend all sessions live (i.e. at 16:30 each week), and attending the in-person visit day will be contingent on attendance at the preceding online sessions.
Practical Details and Dates
The Taster Series is for students only (there are no sessions for parents & guardians).This series will take place on Mondays: 26 Feb, 4 March, 11 March at 16:30 for one hour via Zoom. There will be a visit day to Christ's itself on 18 March 2024 for those who are selected for the programme.
The online sessions are normally camera on zoom meetings. Students should be on mute when not talking but will need to "unmute" themselves when invited to speak. There will also be some opportunities to participate by typing or answering polls etc. Sessions will not necessarily all be the same format as they will be lead by different academics and admissions staff, however participants will be expected to attend live and be ready to participate where appropriate (recordings are not provided afterwards). The first session will be introductory and will run through how to participate as well as other information relating to applying to Cambridge.
If you take the option to visit Christ's at the end of the series, note that visiting students are responsible for getting themselves to Cambridge, however we provide travel information and a map of the college (see below). For students travelling a long way, limited accommodation is normally available at Christ's on the night before the taster day on a first come, first served basis.
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If you are in (or were previously in) Care, please read about the Care Travel Fund (eligibility criteria apply).
Comments from previous participants
We asked some previous participants what they would say to future students considering an application for the event. You can read what they said here.
"I loved the discussions we were able to have after the presentation. I feel as though this made us reflect on what we learnt and discuss this with a professional of the field."
