Ambitious student benefits from various opportunities and support available to her.

NewVIc Honours student Simla has recently secured her place on the intensive 10 week Cambridge programme. Cambridge University has received over 1,400 applications and has considered Simla’s application and determination that she was not only a strong and competitive candidate to Cambridge but also capable of making a successful application to the university for September 2022.

With two national lockdowns as result of the COVID-19 pandemic and transitioning to remote learning, things have not been easy for students like Simla. She struggled sharing one device at home with her siblings but found a way to work around this and still get involved with lots of remote learning and staying on top of her work. The college arranged for a chromebook to be sent to Simla and other students to enable students to maintain connections and be supported without much disruption. NewVIc opened their library (LRC) for students who needed access to online learning. Laptops and PCs were available to use onsite as well as full access to the internet.

Simla has been receiving intensive UCAS support from her teachers and vice Principal and is on track to achieve grades of A*A*A* next year. Simla is the eldest daughter in her family to be potentially going to one of the top Russell Group universities in the country and has a genuine passion to pursue a career in medicine.

She is in her first year studying A Levels in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Extended Project Qualification. She moved to the UK in 2019 from Sri Lanka and joined NewVIc on the GCSE Progress to Advanced Programme. She also enrolled on the college’s Honours Programme for gifted and talented students which aim to support students with high academic potential from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, by inspiring and engaging them in challenging topics often only taught in private school.

With the support of the NewVIc, Simla has been involved in many unique opportunities available to students at the college including the Scholars Programme with The Brilliant Club. She won a place at a summer school with the Medic Portal costing £1,500 with a winning entry in a college competition. The Medic Portal, who are the official partner of Royal Society of Medicine provides students with an unprecedented insight into Medicine.

She has been awarded a University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) bursary from Medify who are the most trusted UCAT practice platform with 2 in 3 students preparing with Medify. Simla also worked with Queen Mary University in a Chemistry Olympiad Project detecting muons at Cosmic Con. Her hard work with her fellow students paid off as they found a positive relationship between atmospheric pressure and moun count and were awarded a bronze award by the university. She recently also won a Jack Petchey award for showing great support to her peers. She will now be going on the Cambridge University apply programme over the summer where she was selected out of hundreds of students that applied.

Simla, Honours and A Level student, said:

"My journey was quite different and it all happened very suddenly. I never thought in my life that I would move to the UK, let alone meet and be supported by so many lovely people to get to where I am now, I could not be happier. NewVIc has opened a very big door with lots of amazing opportunities that I will need for the rest of my life.

I didn't know anything about how the education system works in the UK but one thing I knew for sure was that I always wanted to do something in medicine. My parents and siblings are very excited for me and proud that I am pursuing medicine. They have always been supportive and motivating me to carry on and get to my final destination. NewVIc has also become a part of my family, inspiring me, encouraging and supporting me to thrive. I am so grateful to everyone.

My greatest support are my teachers Karen, Carina, Jo, Magdalena, Asha, Ore and Semra. They are helping me in supporting my applications to Cambridge, King’s College, UCL and Queen Mary. I look forward to studying at a prestigious university, I know I have the support of the Honours Programme where Oxford University graduate and Honours Programme Manager Carina will run university application support, interactive workshops focusing on how to effectively tackle questions at interviews and share coherent arguments as we get closer to those deadlines. I know medicine is very competitive but I still have a strong determination to progress into this successfully with everyone’s support.”

Simla is a great example of so many young and ambitious students at NewVIc, willing to work hard to get to where they deserve and not limiting themselves or becoming their own barriers to success.

Magdalena Johnson, Vice Principal Student Achievement and Progress, added:

“We have been impressed with Simla from the start of her programme at NewVIc. She has got an outstanding attitude towards learning and is a role model to other students. Simla has completed several work placements to develop her knowledge and skills in the medical field, and has made successful applications to the Virtual Medicine and Dentistry Summer School at Queen Mary University and Apply programme at Cambridge University where she was recognised as a strong and competitive candidate who is capable of getting into Cambridge. We are very proud of her determination and commitment.”

Find out more about the NewVIc Honours Programme here https://www.newvic.ac.uk/honours-programme