Cheney School pupil Chanthe Powell recounts her time on a special course at Oxford University’s Lincoln College designed to give students who might not have considered applying, a chance to sample student life at an Oxbridge college

Despite living in Oxford my whole life, I never really looked into or heard of any of the many educational opportunities the city has to offer, especially with a top university sitting on our doorstep.

So when I heard about Oxford’s UNIQ summer school through my school (Cheney) I didn’t really have any idea of what to expect.

UNIQ offers five one-week sessions over the summer, giving students a chance to experience life studying a subject and living in a college at Oxford over the course of one week.

The intense nature of the week’s activities quickly brings together students from all over the country, from lots of different schools and backgrounds.

The people I spoke to awkwardly on day one of UNIQ became the people that I didn’t want to say goodbye to by the end of the week.

I hadn’t quite realised that everyone was in the same boat as me: shy, scared and not knowing really what to do.

We also all had something in common – an aspiration to do well enough to get into Oxbridge or another top university.

This allowed us to talk about our goals and discuss ways in which to achieve them.

UNIQ gives you the structure of a typical week at Oxford preparing for a tutorial in a particular subject (in my case biochemistry).

It also includes sessions giving practical information about the admissions process and university more generally, which for me really helped reduce some of the anxieties I had about what university would be like.

The first few days were particularly useful because we had presentations about writing personal statements, interviews at Oxford and student finance. The academic work plunges you right into the subject from day one.

In my first day of biochemistry, we had lectures and went on to do an experiment on isolating our DNA and also synthesising a protein. These were experiments that a first-year student would take part in, so we got a good experience of what we should expect at university.

The week was demanding but definitely worth it – and in between lectures and lab work there was plenty of free time to socialise and explore Oxford.

As I live here, I acted as a tour guide for my new friends, which actually made me see the city with new eyes.

The social highlight of the week has to be the Bop. Everyone is given a fancy dress theme (I went as Khaleesi from Game of Thrones), and we all went to dinner and then out dancing. By the end everyone is sweaty, exhausted but sad that the week of making new friends and having new experiences has to end.

Coming from a state school with parents who hadn’t attended university, I never expected to be told I could get into one of the best universities in the world – and I think this is true for many people from backgrounds like mine.

UNIQ showed us all that anything could be possible if we wanted it. It gave us the confidence of having survived and enjoyed the academic experience, and the practical knowledge about what to consider when applying for university.

I think applying to UNIQ was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I would encourage anyone thinking of applying next year to go for it, because you won’t regret it.

And if that doesn’t persuade you, three free meals a day is always a plus.