Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:05:08 +0000

The Tab predicts who'll be the winners and losers in this week's Bumps action.

It’s that time of year again. Lent Bumps, when for five days, all eyes turn to the Cam to see the giants – and the minnows – of college rowing battle it out for their own share of boatie glory.

In years to come, some will sit and explain to their grand-children about how they stroked their mercurial College 4th VIII to ‘Blades’, as the poor, clueless kids stare at the oar above the mantelpiece and truly believe Granddad was an elite athlete and not just lucky enough to have, let’s say, Robinson III (and similar) in front every day.

There are some great stories to be told all the way up and down the Bumps charts. All that really matters though is the Headship. And that, at the moment, belongs to… (you guessed it) First and Third.

That’s the way it looks like staying as well. Only Queens’ can match them for speed and they start way down in 13th, not even high enough to get to race with the big guns.

Downing start second and, a blip at Bedford aside, are quick – quick enough to hold off LMBC too.

Behind them, Clare are pretty atrocious, and are looking down the barrel of spoons, while Pembroke, Jesus and Tit Hall (in 5th, 6th and 7th) all look fairly similar, and will have to go some to go up more than one place each.

Caius, a far cry from their Silas Stafford-inspired May VIII of 2009, will struggle to do anything better thanrow-over comfortably in front of a lacklustre Emma.

   Queens' M1. Photo: Nick Gates

Only when we get down to 10th are we going to start seeing some real action. Fitz, Magdalene, King’s and Queens’ start in exact reverse order of speed. Day 1 (Wednesday for the top division) is going to be carnage.

There should be a bump by Grassy, but who gets it is anyone’s guess. If I had to have a stab… King’s to get Magdalene and Queens’ to get seriously close to an unbelievable overbump on Fitz. If Queens’ get King’s, they’re even better than we all thought, and will go on to get blades easily.

Queens' Powerhouse Michael Clark rates their chances. He told the Tab:

"We’re unbelievably good now."

Big chat. Up to them to prove it.

Christ’s are awful, and will get bumped. Repeatedly. Peterhouse, after a stonking Bedford Head, are (along with Queens’) probably your best bet for Division 1 Blades.

Lower down, Catz, recognisable by their numerous strips of Cambridge-blue lycra, should also go up four. Shame on the CUBC/CULRC/GB (allegedly) triallist development programmes if they don’t.

Watch out for a vastly-improved Sidney too. In years gone by, they were a joke. They’ll be the ones laughing by the end of this week though.

Below that, it’s anyone’s guess. That’s the beauty of it. Expect some huge pile-ups and a technical row-over or two. Down in the basement, Emma M4 is one of the worst boats I’ve ever seen. Ever. And they weren’t even the last to qualify. God help us.

But, at the risk of falling flat on my face…

 

Tab’s tips for blades:

Peterhouse M1

Catz M1

Sidney M1 (maybe)

 

Tab’s tips for spoons:

Clare M1

Christ’s M1

I don’t know…First and Third M4 – you’re a 4th boat.

 

Top 5:

FaT

Downing

LMBC

Pembroke

Jesus

 

For The Tab's predictions for women's bumps click here

Double opportunities as Cambridge Sutton Trust summer schools increase capacity

15 January 2010

The number of places available on the Sutton Trust Summer Schools at Cambridge in 2010 has almost doubled, giving more year 12 students from UK state-maintained schools or colleges the opportunity to spend a week living and studying as a first-year undergraduate might at Cambridge.

 

All costs are covered, including transport to and from the event, meals, accommodation and all activities. Applications are now being taken for the 17 subject-specific residential courses - and those from applicants who most closely match the Priority Criteria are especially welcome.
The Priority Criteria include: -

those who'll be the first generation in their family to attend university
those who are eligible to receive EMA (Educational Maintenance Allowance)
those whose schools or colleges have little history of sending students to research-intensive universities
those who've achieved at least five A or A*s at GCSE

The summer schools offer a unique opportunity to find out what living and studying at Cambridge is like. Participants stay in single-room student accommodation in a Cambridge College and benefit from a combination of lectures, seminars, discussion groups, practical work and of course, equally important in many respects, the social activities that university life at Cambridge offers.

Joe Fitzpatrick attended a Sutton Trust Summer School at Cambridge in July 2007 while a student at Luton Sixth Form College. He went on to successfully apply to Cambridge, and is now studying Music at Pembroke College. As a disabled student, he had particular concerns about how he'd fit in which the summer school helped him address:

"The opportunity to meet current students, lecturers and other prospective applicants in the same predicament as me really showed me at first hand that I had nothing to worry about. Everybody involved was really supportive and friendly and I met some great people who I am still in touch with today. When I went on the Summer School I was very undecided about which subject to study at university. The chance to spend a week experiencing the content and the style of teaching of a university degree in music was extremely useful and undoubtedly played an influential role in my ultimate decision. The only bad thing about the week was that it made me want to study at Cambridge way too much!"

Chloe Stott was a student at Oldham Sixth Form College when she went on a Physics Sutton Trust Summer school. Now she's studying Natural Sciences at Peterhouse, one of Cambridge's oldest Colleges. She found the summer school really helpful in giving her a better understanding of Cambridge and university life generally, as no one in her family had any experience of Higher Education:

"I was a bit nervous about whether I'd fit in, but after the summer school I was sure I wanted to apply! All the students I met were lovely, everyone running the summer school was really nice and although the work was hard it was also fun and it gave you confidence in yourself when you managed to do it! We were all looked after really well - lots of food, lots of activities to do out of classes (punting, tour of the observatory, finale dinner) and the current undergraduates were approachable if you needed help with the set work."

Several new subject combinations are being offered for this year's Summer Schools, including Theology and Religious Studies, with Philosophy. Applicants are encouraged to consider thinking of subjects they might not have previously had the opportunity to study, such as Archaeology and Anthropology, or Psychology and Sociology. A full list of the subjects offered and further information on the Sutton Trust Summer Schools at Cambridge is available through the links at the side of the page.

Places on each subject-specific summer school are limited. Priority will be given to those who most closely match the Priority Criteria and the closing date for applications is 12th March.

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