Aimed at students in Year 12 (or equivalent) during the 2022-2023 academic year, the Homerton College Essay Programme is intended to equip participants with key skills that are considered highly desirable by university admissions tutors such as critical reading, research design and essay writing. Cross-curricular and multidisciplinary, we welcome applications from interested students studying any combination of subjects who are keen to engage with the theme of this year's programme: Building a Sustainable and Healthy World.
This programme is delivered as a collaborative project between current Homerton students and the Homerton College Admissions Team.
By signing up to the programme, you will have access to a selection of subject-specific and skills-based webinar workshops from May to July. We have designed the programme to be flexible to fit around school and examination commitments. Our workshops will provide you with the grounding to devise and produce your own essay in response to a choice of questions on this year's theme.
We would encourage all participants in the programme to submit a final essay by Monday 24th July. Participants will be able to select a question to answer from an extensive range with topics that stretch between and across disciplines. Examples of previous essay questions include ‘There is no Planet B. Discuss’, ‘Is Sustainable Development an Oxymoron?’ and ‘Is the only way to build a sustainable future through scientific innovation?’.
All programme participants who submit an essay on one of the set questions by the deadline will be invited to attend Homerton College’s free Sustainability Student Conference on Sunday 27th August. This event will be hybrid, enabling participants to attend sessions online if they cannot attend in-person.
Prizes and Awards will be given to the most impressive entries to the Essay Programme. Travel bursaries will be available for those in need who would be travelling to the Sustainability Student Conference via public transport.
Programme participants who currently attend a UK state school and achieve ‘Highly Commended’ for their essay will be invited to attend a free residential visit at Homerton from Saturday 26th August to Monday 28th August, as well as being invited to Homerton College’s Sustainability Student Conference on Sunday 27th August.
For more information on eligibility and selection criteria please see here. Submit your application to this programme here.
If you have any questions about the programme please email us: access@homerton.cam.ac.uk.
Applications for The Homerton College Essay Programme are now open. Please submit your application by Sunday 14th May 2023 by completing this form. We would advise submitting an early application where possible.
Some feedback from our 2022 participants…
“This was the first ever essay competition I enjoyed and actually completed. I believe this was because of how student orientated the programme was as this made it less intimidating.”
“The programme was set up perfectly, with the ideal amount of help without being spoon fed as to be allowed enough room to explore the topics in depth.”
“I found it incredibly helpful in building my essay planning and writing skills.”