Ceilidhs, Russian and riddles

Caitlin McKie reflects on her Sutton Trust Summer School experience last month. 

My name is Caitlin McKie and I live in Dumfries, Scotland and go to Dumfries Academy. In July I attended classes at St Andrews University on the Sutton Trust Summer School. It was at the recommendation of my teacher to apply. After long deliberation, I decided to apply for English and Modern Languages at St Andrews and as you may have guessed I got in!

My favourite classes were learning about Anglo-Saxon riddles and the Russian language. Both were extremely interesting and now I’m even pondering if a degree in Russian might be for me!

There was also activities planned throughout the entire week. I did team games and saw the talent show, both were a lot of fun, however I enjoyed the Ceilidh at the end of the week most of all. There was also a lot of talks and workshops, I found the one on applying to University particularly helpful.

One thing which has made my experience here so much easier is the help and guidance from the student ambassadors as it was great to have my questions answered by current students at the University.

I’m now feeling a lot more confident about going to University. Coming to the Sutton Trust summer school has helped me immensely and I now know that it’s not a big scary place that I should be afraid of. I’ve always been really excited about University but there was always that constant fear of not fitting in or being good enough. I definitely feel a lot more positive about it now.

I think the Sutton Trust is a great organisation that every young person should try to get involved in and this summer school is a fantastic experience I won’t forget. Most of all, I’ve made great friends that I’m determined to stay in contact with.