School visits 

Who is it for?

Year 7–12 students and teachers in schools and colleges across Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset. 

Aims of the visit 
  • Learn how to question assumptions and build strong arguments through interactive workshop(s).
  • Sharpen critical thinking skills through interactive discussion.

Format 

In-person. 

Duration 

Sessions are tailored to year groups. Our main sessions last 45-minute/60-minutes for year 10+. We also offer shorter assembly sessions for year 7 – 10. 

Please see below for dates. 

When  

We aim to visit Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset each academic school year. Upcoming dates can be found on the registration form below. 

How to register 

Schools can register their interest here. 

In partnership with 

University of Cambridge Area Links Scheme. 

We deliver a variety of sessions to schools in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall.  These can include: 

  • An informative session on universities, focusing particularly on Cambridge. Covers what universities are, what students can study, and the opportunities available. 

  • A focused session on Cambridge’s application process, and how this varies from other universities. 

  • An interactive workshop focusing on interview skills and oracy. 

  • A detailed workshop on what makes a strong personal statement.

Each session is designed to last for approximately 45–60 minutes; however, session lengths can be adapted accordingly to suit assemblies. We primarily give talks to years 10–12, although we can tailor our talks to suit students across years 7–13. For visits covering multiple year groups, we recommend separate talks for Year 10/11, Year 12, and Year 13 to ensure information delivered is relevant to their current educational journey. Talks for Year 13 are only delivered in September and are primarily focused on application and/or interview support. 

Here's what some of our teachers had to say about previous school visits! 

“We were thrilled to have you. I was lucky enough to be in the year 9/10 focus group and the questions after the session. So pleased to see students excited about their future prospects.” 

“Our year 12s were buzzing this morning when I spoke to them about it and a group of the boys spent the morning excitedly talking about the shape of water as it comes out of a tap! We really do appreciate you making the visit and I can’t emphasise enough how much of a difference it makes given how hard/expensive it is for us to get students up to Cambridge.” 

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you on behalf of the students any myself today. It was such a useful and informative session and I know I will have lots more questions at lunchtime!” 

If you are interested in Downing visiting your school or college in the next Academic Year, please register your interest. 

If we are oversubscribed, we will prioritise:  

  • Schools in IMD deciles 1–4. 

  • Schools with a proportion of students eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) above the national average (25.7%).  

  • Check your school's FSM proportion here. 

  • Schools with historically few offers to study at the University of Cambridge. 

Take a look at some of our recent school visits 

In the 2025–2026 Academic Year, our team has spoken to over 3,000 students across 46 schools!