Supercurriculars in gap year
I’ve currently paused my education and I’m starting year 12 again next year in sep 2026. I’m aiming for Oxbridge in either biomedical sciences or English (I know they are very different course, but I’m interested in both, I will be taking bio, chem and English lit next year.)
This is a sort of a gap year, so I think it would be a great way to get ahead in supercurriculars and work experience. What type of things could I bed doing to help me get into Oxbridge in this time off? Just because a lot of supercurriculars require you to be in a school, or a certain age, etc and it’s a shame because they are the supercurriculars which a lot of people recommend for Oxbridge.
So what things could I do completely on my own accord?
This is a sort of a gap year, so I think it would be a great way to get ahead in supercurriculars and work experience. What type of things could I bed doing to help me get into Oxbridge in this time off? Just because a lot of supercurriculars require you to be in a school, or a certain age, etc and it’s a shame because they are the supercurriculars which a lot of people recommend for Oxbridge.
So what things could I do completely on my own accord?
Reply 1
For English, you need to read widely and beyond the A level course. You need do nothing else (other than ace your exams, of course).
You might look into competitions, classes, essays, and so on for biomed, but don't worry too much about Supercurriculars in general. Academic potential is what matters most. You are not expected to have work experience before applying for an undergraduate course.
Good luck!
You might look into competitions, classes, essays, and so on for biomed, but don't worry too much about Supercurriculars in general. Academic potential is what matters most. You are not expected to have work experience before applying for an undergraduate course.
Good luck!
Reply 2
Original post
by AnonymousI’ve currently paused my education and I’m starting year 12 again next year in sep 2026. I’m aiming for Oxbridge in either biomedical sciences or English (I know they are very different course, but I’m interested in both, I will be taking bio, chem and English lit next year.)
This is a sort of a gap year, so I think it would be a great way to get ahead in supercurriculars and work experience. What type of things could I bed doing to help me get into Oxbridge in this time off? Just because a lot of supercurriculars require you to be in a school, or a certain age, etc and it’s a shame because they are the supercurriculars which a lot of people recommend for Oxbridge.
So what things could I do completely on my own accord?
This is a sort of a gap year, so I think it would be a great way to get ahead in supercurriculars and work experience. What type of things could I bed doing to help me get into Oxbridge in this time off? Just because a lot of supercurriculars require you to be in a school, or a certain age, etc and it’s a shame because they are the supercurriculars which a lot of people recommend for Oxbridge.
So what things could I do completely on my own accord?
Same this is kinda my gap year rn coz im not doing the subjects i needed, but i couldnt apply to apply for summer schools coz i dont have the correct subjects rn, but by the time i go next year with the ones i needed, my age would then be the restriction and i am so scared if not able to participate in summer schools would disadvantage me
Reply 3
Original post
by AnonymousSame this is kinda my gap year rn coz im not doing the subjects i needed, but i couldnt apply to apply for summer schools coz i dont have the correct subjects rn, but by the time i go next year with the ones i needed, my age would then be the restriction and i am so scared if not able to participate in summer schools would disadvantage me
Ah are you resitting year 12 next year also? I think a lot of the summer schools don’t have age limits although I could be wrong. Let me know if you find any without any age requirements because I defo will apply.
Reply 4
Hi. I'm in S5 (equivalent of Year 12 in Scotland), and I want to apply to uni for English Literature, so I'll share some of what I've been doing.
I've been trying to read a wide range of literature, from plenty of time periods and genres to getting in more plays and poetry. From what I've heard and from some of my own research, lots of English applicants nearly exclusively mention novels in their personal statements. By showing admissions tutors that you engage with multiple forms of literature, you can help yourself stand out. You could also do this by comparing reading a play to how it is performed on stage, or from comparing a piece of literature with its film adaptations or retellings.
Additionally, I've been reading books about literature. One that I've found really useful was 'Much Ado About Numbers' by Rob Eastaway. It was a bit waffly at times (which I always hate to say as I've met the author and he's absolutely lovely), but the book's general point that there can be many (often unconsidered) influences on a writer's work is something that was interesting to explore. I'm sure there are plenty of other books out there that explain this in a bit of a better way, however.
Having a bit of a theme for your personal statement is good. E.g., "I read Eastaway's 'Much Ado About Numbers' and I learnt .... This lead me to read .... ect" Obviously, that's simplified, but having one activity lead on to another is something that you will ideally need to do in your personal statement.
One thing that really helped me when trying to figure out what supercurriculars I should do was looking into how to write a personal statement and making a 'plan' based on what I had already done. This let me see what I still had to do, allowing me to be more focused in my supercurriculars instead of doing everything under the sun.
When people say "quality over quantity" for supercurriculars, I find that that's not very helpful in understanding how much you should do. Think about it in the sense that you'll want around 4 paragraphs (it can be a bit less or a bit more, depending on what you want to say) about English across questions 1 and 2. Within each of these paragraphs, you're going to want to link/show progression between at least 2 activities, however I have seen some advice saying that 3 linked activities per paragraph is optimal.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. 😊
I've been trying to read a wide range of literature, from plenty of time periods and genres to getting in more plays and poetry. From what I've heard and from some of my own research, lots of English applicants nearly exclusively mention novels in their personal statements. By showing admissions tutors that you engage with multiple forms of literature, you can help yourself stand out. You could also do this by comparing reading a play to how it is performed on stage, or from comparing a piece of literature with its film adaptations or retellings.
Additionally, I've been reading books about literature. One that I've found really useful was 'Much Ado About Numbers' by Rob Eastaway. It was a bit waffly at times (which I always hate to say as I've met the author and he's absolutely lovely), but the book's general point that there can be many (often unconsidered) influences on a writer's work is something that was interesting to explore. I'm sure there are plenty of other books out there that explain this in a bit of a better way, however.
Having a bit of a theme for your personal statement is good. E.g., "I read Eastaway's 'Much Ado About Numbers' and I learnt .... This lead me to read .... ect" Obviously, that's simplified, but having one activity lead on to another is something that you will ideally need to do in your personal statement.
One thing that really helped me when trying to figure out what supercurriculars I should do was looking into how to write a personal statement and making a 'plan' based on what I had already done. This let me see what I still had to do, allowing me to be more focused in my supercurriculars instead of doing everything under the sun.
When people say "quality over quantity" for supercurriculars, I find that that's not very helpful in understanding how much you should do. Think about it in the sense that you'll want around 4 paragraphs (it can be a bit less or a bit more, depending on what you want to say) about English across questions 1 and 2. Within each of these paragraphs, you're going to want to link/show progression between at least 2 activities, however I have seen some advice saying that 3 linked activities per paragraph is optimal.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. 😊
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