Posted by Autumn @ Bellerbys Oxford
Hello Bellerbys blog readers,
The first thing I want to say after neglecting my privilege of contributing to this blog for so long is that.... I HAVE FINISHED MY EXAMS. Such a wonderful feeling it is! This post-exam period may well be my most fantastic time ever.
During the exam periods, lots and lots of things happened, and it was such a pity that I was unable to spare some time to share with our readers my invaluable experience. Now that I can safely put those admittedly nasty papers behind, I cannot wait to start blogging again.
This first post-exam post is to describe my (free) trip to Brighton.
I was honoured to be chosen as the Oxford candidate for the Richard Ryde scholarship, and was invited to an interview at Bellerbys College Brighton. Therefore on Tuesday, 31 May, I set out on my first trip ever to Brighton.
I had an early start, but the excitement of being a candidate for this prestigious scholarship kept me from grumpiness and boredom during my 3-hour train journey from Oxford to Brighton. (Not to mention that it was free: the school reimbursed my train fare). It was truly an honour to be taking that train to Brighton on this particular day as a scholarship candidate, as there are so many wonderful and capable AS students currently studying in Bellerbys College Oxford.
I arrived at Bellerbys College Brighton at around 10.45 am, 15 minutes before the interview officially commenced. I was warmly greeted by the principal of Bellerbys Oxford, Ms. Julia, who amiably asked me about my train journey. The other three candidates were already there, chatting with their respective principal and/or academic directors. And as it was my first time in Bellerbys College Brighton, I decided to utilise my time there to have a quick look around.
Being the main branch of Bellerbys College where all the executives have their offices, the study centre is huge. It is way bigger than our college here in Oxford. It combines both Bellerbys College and our sister, Embassy College. The atmosphere there is so different from what we have in Oxford: a little more professional, more dynamite but not as relaxing and familiar.
At 11 am, the interview started, and I, Oxford candidate, was selected to go first. I entered the interview room totally freaking out. According to the information that Ms.Julia had kindly provided me, the candidate was to be interviewed by five executives, a quite intimidating prospect. That explained well my nervousness.
The interview went better than I expected, as the interviewers were all so amicable and not-at-all-scary like I had previously surmised. Each of the interviewers asked me one simple question and I tried my best to answer every question (hopefully) with grace. The questions were set for me to express my opinions, my world view and my ambitions. They were not at all tricky, but they compelled me to think deeply about myself and what I wish and can contribute to the society.
The interview lasted around 20 minutes, and I was ushered out. As the London candidate went in, I spent my time befriending the other two candidates. The Brighton candidate, a Hong Kong girl with the lovely name Crystal studied the same subjects as me, while the Cambridge candidate, Niki from Iran, was a budding scientist. We chatted about a wide range of things: from the upcoming exams to the medical problems arising from wearing high heels. The girls were so charming and affable.
When all the candidates were interviewed, we were invited to have a free lunch in the cafeteria. Too bad the London candidate had to leave early! After that, we spent some time visiting the Brighton Pier, with Crystal as our tour guide. It had been a long time since I last had chance to visit a beach, so the experience was absolutely fascinating.
At around 2pm, we parted ways and started the journey back to our respective college.
Eventually, I did not win the scholarship. But I was not extremely disappointed, as my whole experience in Brighton was fabulous, to say nothing of the new friends I have made.
Posted by Autumn, studying A Levels at Bellerbys Oxford
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