With two cohorts in Cambridge and two based at Tonbridge School, this week represents the first occasion on which the APP is at full capacity. The cohorts in Cambridge enjoyed the ‘Cambridge Landmark Challenge’ yesterday afternoon, following a set of clues around the city in order to get to know and familiarise themselves with their surroundings, embracing and seeking to understand the extraordinary history and culture that Cambridge has to offer along the way. Answers to clues included King’s Chapel, St Benet’s Street Church, the Eagle Pub (outside only!) and Trinity College. The bulk of the academic content this week is being provided by the Brilliant Club, and this morning saw the ‘launch event’ for this. Homerton College was the venue,IMG_0386 allowing our students to see another Cambridge college, and all enjoyed a college tour, a talk from an admissions tutor and an essay skills workshop. The Brilliant Club, with their team of graduate student tutors, are offering courses on the EU, the 18th Century and the emergence of mIMG_0390odern society and Computer Science this week – something for everyone! If all that was not enough, one of our mentors (Zach) spoke to the students about screening for Downs Syndrome, and the science and ethics involved, demonstrating once again how fortunate we are to work with such a knowledgeable group of mentors.

At Tonbridge, Sunday saw a visit from our old friends the Unreasonables, who once again delivered a bespoke session on public speaking and leadership skills. After a series of icebreaker games to help integrate the year 9 and year 10 cohorts (the older students are proudly showing their younger counterparts the ropes), the year 9 heard from Hilary Carty, inspirational as ever, and the year 10 were introduced, by another of our mentors (Sandamini), to the mock trial they will be undertaking as their cohort activity over the course of this week. Monday has been Capturean interesting day with a range of subjects covered, from Maths and English to Philosophy, Ethics, Sociology, Psychology and Classics, not to forget Economics. The Brightside Trust are in this afternoon to introduce our new cohort to the online mentoring platform that forms a key part of the programme away from residentials.

Keep following us on twitter (@AandAFoundation) for updates, and look out for Blog 2 tomorrow!