One thing that I have not seen mentioned on the various forums about Oxbridge is that there are Organ, Choral and Instrumental Awards at the various colleges.

The Instrumental Award is by audition and you get a stipend of between £75 and £200 p.a. according to the college, which goes towards tuition in your instrument (I think- but check website).

The Instrumental Award is available for Paino, Violin, Viola, Cello, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Basson and French Horn.

So if you are concerned about having to give up playing or not having an opportunity to play with orchestras and in particular Chamber Groups this Instrumental Award may assist in keeping you in the arena of music at Oxbridge.

Also Oxbridge has Taster Summer Schools for Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students (FE & Mature students). All costs are meet by the Universities. Again check out both the Oxford and Cambridge websites. As far as I can remember each summer school takes about 40 students. The priority target students are those who are the first in their family to attend University, have parents in non-professional occupations and a few other requirements, but its not exclusive. You dont have to apply to Oxbridge at the end of the course but it is (if you get on it) an excellent way of tasting University life!

If anyone finds the links to any of these pages, please post them!

Here's the Cambridge one. My son applied for one, but then of course didn't get into Cambridge, so it was no good.

His teacher (who went to Cambridge herself about 10 years ago) said that in her day they were highly competitive, and even people from specialist music schools didn't always get one. They're aimed at players of very high standard.


http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergradu...strumental.html

I was considering applying for one for piano, but having spent the last month in the company of lots of really good pianists, i can see that I wouldn't really have a chance.

id be interested in one of the summer taster courses, maybe the award in a few years!

Well, perhaps it depends on how many of the good ones get into Cambridge. I'd imagine you need to be around DipABRSM level to have a chance - son's teacher thought he might have a chance for clarinet, and he got distinction at Dip.

You've got nearly a year to up your piano game - the auditions are at the end of September once they know who's got in. Your teacher needs to write you a good reference in February though. And I expect you'll need some experience in chamber music groups, as that's what the award is all about.

There's no way I could be a solid diploma level in a year, as far as I can see.

Chamber music... well I was out-auditioned by at least 3 other pianists at my school to get into the chamber music groups, so no experience there. Can't say I'm suprised though, having heard one of them play yesterday.

I really wouldn't have a chance...

Never mind, there's lots of music to get involved with in Cambridge, at all sorts of levels. Maybe you could join/form a recorder group and just play the piano for your own pleasure - weren't you going to have one in your room?

How's the STEP going, by the way? Son hadn't even started at this stage, so you must be doing better than he was!

That's the plan, I still have to find one to buy/rent first though.



STEP is a pain! I think we're still doing paper 1 questions, but they're getting gradually quicker and easier, although I seem to be doing my best not to realise (spent half of saturday stuck on a question, going over and over again trying to work out where I was meant to be going - until my mum looked over my shoulder and pointed out that i'd finished )

Apologies, here is the link for Oxford
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergradua...tal_awards.html
Link for Cambridge
http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergradu...strumental.html

One of my students (I am teacher but not music) had just scraped a distinction G8 in viola but had masses of chamber & orchestral experience and was given an Instrumental Award at Cambridge. I always tell my students just go for it, then you have a chance. If you get it, its a lovely surprise. If you dont, well you tried your best.

I think you're right, Ayshah - if you don't try for one, you certainly won't get one! So, Sarah, and anyone else applying to Oxbridge, just give it a go.

It's probably a bit easier to get an award for some instruments than others too, as it depends on how many others are in the running for each instrument, and how many vacancies there are. You wouldn't know that before you applied, and it may be because there are so many clarinettists around that my son's teacher said he would need to be playing around diploma standard.

I think piano is probably going to be the worst of the lot!