Harrogate's Ashville College celebrates pupils’ Oxbridge success

If successful in his A Levels, Tarun Lalapet - who joined the independent school when he and his family moved to Harrogate from Texas – will be studying Human Sciences at St Catherine’s College, from September.

In addition to applying to Oxford, the 17-year-old, who was born in Toronto, Canada – and has lived in a number of different countries, including Switzerland and America – applied to several universities, including US Ivy League schools.

Ahead of the interview stages, Tarun and his fellow Oxbridge candidates – including another Sixth Former who has received an offer from the University of Cambridge - were put through their paces by former Ashville Oxbridge graduates.

In Tarun’s case, his mock interview was conducted by James Crabbe, a Professor at the University of Oxford’s Wolfson College.

On being offered a place at Oxford University, Tarun, who is taking A Levels in Biology, Chemistry and Religious Studies, said: “I still can’t quite believe it. I don’t think I ever expected that I would actually get in.

"I’m looking forward to it of course, however, my focus now is on my studies and getting the A Level grades I need.

“The initial stages for Oxford were through UCAS, which is a lot more straightforward than the US, and involved writing a personal statement as part of the application.

“Then came admissions tests, which are all about intelligence and aptitude and for which I could prepare and study.

“This was followed by an interview, which was very intense and not your typical interview – no amount of preparing or studying can prepare you for it really as they ask questions you do not expect.”

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Leanne Norton, Assistant Head of Sixth Form at Ashville College, said: “We are thrilled for Tarun and his Upper Sixth colleague on being offered places at Oxford and Cambridge.

“It’s also important to us to celebrate the efforts of all the Sixth Formers who applied to Oxbridge.

"To gain an interview at Oxford or Cambridge is an achievement in itself and we were thrilled that a number of our pupils’ applications enabled them to experience this.

“This year we drew on the skills and experiences of former Ashville pupils, our Old Ashvillians, including some Oxbridge graduates, and this really helped the applicants in the preparation stages.

“We wish Tarun and his colleague well in their A Levels, and hope to proudly add their names to rollcall of Ashvillians who have gone on to become either Oxford or Cambridge undergraduates.”

In addition to his studies, Tarun, has recently set up his own Sixth Form board game club, where he and fellow pupils play the more unusual board games, such as Condottiere.

In his spare time, Tarun writes poetry, plays video games and is learning the guitar.

During lockdown, he became interested in electronic music production and purchased the necessary software and now writes, produces and performs his own songs.

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