On Tuesday 1 April, two alumnae, Basmala Saada and Helena Pizura, returned to the school to give an inspiring talk about their experiences of studying Science at elite universities.

They talked about their love of their subjects and how the extra opportunities they had taken while at the Abbey had helped them, giving advice to students on which Enrichment activities would help them. They described the high level of intensity and challenge on their courses, and their strategies for dealing with these pressures.

Helena, who is studying Medicine at Oxford, discussed the balance of lab work with working independently to master complex theories. Basmala spoke about the challenges and excitement of studying Medicine at UCL, and of the strangeness of rushing from dissection to seminars to socials.

The talk was used to launch a mentoring programme in which small groups of Abbey students will meet regularly to discuss Enrichment with alumnae who currently attend, or have recently left, elite universities.

Both students gave excellent advice on a wide range of topics. We’ve very grateful to them for sharing their expertise.

Mr Dalton

Director of Abbey IP (Enrichment)