Nsikan Obong-Essien, from Nigeria, is one of seven students from St Bede’s College in Manchester to have been offered Oxbridge places this year. The seventeen year old student arrived in the UK just over sixteen months ago to take up a place in the Sixth Form. He has just secured a place at Churchill College, Cambridge to read Engineering. When asked how he felt about his achievement, he replied “I was delighted to be offered a place and when I phoned my mum at home in Nigeria, I could hear her jumping up and down with excitement. I would like to go back to Nigeria when I have finished my degree course in order to help develop my country.”
The other students offered places at Cambridge include Head Girl, Megan Tollit and Deputy Head Boy, Martin Benson May, who have been offered places at Gonville and Caius College, to read Law, and Downing College to read Economics, respectively. Julia Wdowin hopes to read French and Spanish at Christ College, Catherine Burke is to read English at Lucy Cavendish.
Students offered places at Oxford are Cormac Slevin, who has a conditional offer to read Economics and Management at Jesus College and Maria Langslow hopes to read Physics and Philosophy at Corpus Christie College.
Headmaster, Michael Barber said, ‘The competition for University places this year has once again been extremely competitive and along with our success at Oxbridge, many of our students are holding excellent offers from other Russell Group universities. Nsikan’s achievement is remarkable for a student who has only recently arrived in the UK and it reflects his determination and will to succeed. We are very proud of all our Sixth Form students. They have a good support network to help them apply to the right universities for the right courses and the time and effort they put into their university applications has resulted in many offers. They also realise that there is still work to be done to achieve the A level grades needed.”