Russell Group universities definitely favour 'hard' subjects

The UK's top universities recently published a guide which acknowledges officially for the first time that they favour students who study traditional subjects at A-level.

The guide, produced in collaboration with the Institute of Career Guidance and compiled by the Russell Group, a group representing Oxford, Cambridge and 18 other leading universities, confirms rumours that they favour 'harder' subjects over 'softer' ones such as Media Studies or Sociology.

The guide also reveals a clear preference for Science and Maths subjects at A level – even for apparently unrelated degrees. Similarly some Russell Group universities require a language at GCSE, even if your degree is not in languages.

The publication makes it clear that many degrees at competitive universities will closed to you unless you study at least two of the following subjects in the Sixth Form – Maths, English, Geography, History, any of the three Sciences, a Classical or Modern Foreign Language

"If you plan to take more than one perceived 'soft' subject, some caution may be needed," the guidebook warns.

See www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/04/university-places-traditional-subjects-a-levels for a fuller report.

Update on university tuition fees

Under the coalition government's new plans, from Autumn 2012 universities will be able to charge its students a maximum  of £6000 per year for tuition. Only in exceptional cases will universities be able to charge its students up to a possible £9000 per year.
Maintenance loans will be available to all irrespective of income and graduates will not make a contribution towards repaying their tuition costs until they are earning at least £21,000. The repayment will be on 9% of income earnings above £21,000 with all outstanding repayments being written off after 30 years.
A real rate of interest will be charged on loan repayments but with a progressive taper. For graduates earning below £21,000 there will be no real rate of interest applied to their loan. For graduates earning between £21,000 and £41,000, a real rate of interest will start to be charged, reaching a maximum of RPI plus 3%.

Molesey Boat Club and St Catherine's Form Partnership

St Catherine's are delighted to announce their official partnership with the leading rowing club of the area. Molesey Boat Club is internationally renowned as being the breeding ground for some of the UK's finest rowers, including numerous former Olympic champions.
The school already has several pupils who are members of MBC but this new initiative will put St Catherine's at the forefront of a sport at which the UK leads the world.
Opportunities will exist for any St Catherine's student in Years 11, 12 or 13, able to match MBC's stringent entry requirements, to apply for a Rowing Scholarship. The lucky recipients of these scholarships can expect to have all their MBC costs paid for them, including membership, training camps and race entry fees.