Free taste of student life at St Andrews

School pupils interested in an all- expenses-paid sample of life at the University of St Andrews are being invited to apply for places at this year’s Summer School.

Youngsters from all over the UK are offered a week’s free taster session at the Fife university as part of the Sutton Trust initiative.

Now in its fourth year, the project is targeted at bright students aged 16-17 who would not traditionally have applied to St Andrews, who attend schools that have little history of generating pupils who progress to university and whose parents did not attend university. It allows 60 students to sample – free of charge – the academic and social life at St Andrews for one week during summer.

The Summer School includes accommodation, meals, tuition and travelling expenses and will reflect a normal first year at St Andrews – students will choose their course and have an opportunity to use a modern university library and IT systems. They will also be given the opportunity to take part in a wide programme of leisure activities.

The Sutton Trust is an educational charity founded by millionaire philanthropist Sir Peter Lampl, and one of its most important activities is to support Access Summer Schools in major research- led universities. St Andrews is the only Scottish university which currently offers a Sutton Trust Summer School.

Research by the National Foundation for Educational Research showed that students who attend a summer school have, on average, a five times greater chance of gaining a place at the university of their choice than other students.

Since its launch in 2002, many ‘graduates’ of the Sutton Trust Summer School have been offered full-time undergraduate places at the University of St Andrews.

Anyone interested in a place should call Sarah Morrison, tel: 01334 462346 or e-mail access@st- andrews.ac.uk for a leaflet and further details or download an application form from the Sutton Trust website – www.suttontrust.com.

The deadline for receipt of applications is Tuesday 1st March 2005.

Issued by the University of St Andrews. Contact : Niall Scott, tel 01334 462244, mobile 07711 223062