In order to provide training for outstanding Years 12 and 13 students to achieve their goal of being admitted to the world's top universities, such as University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Lucton School Chongqing has launched the Lucton Honours Programme. Through a series of training, including Oxbridge admission test skills, academic research skills, and cross-cultural communication skills, the competitiveness and personal growth of students can be enhanced.
Each student is assigned a Development Mentor and a Professional Mentor. The Development Mentor is responsible for following up on the progress of the student's programme, as well as answering questions and providing feedback. The Professional Mentor is responsible for the exploration of the interest of student's major field of study.
At the opening ceremony of Lucton Honours Programme, the three Development Mentors introduced to the students and their parents the objectives, and explained the overall plan, curriculum and expected learning outcomes. The students then shared with the teachers on their personal academic direction, as well as the motivation and goals of their choice of direction. Subsequently, the teachers and students formed online communication groups to communicate and answer questions on academic questions.
Development Mentors and Professional Mentors conduct regular academic meetings with students. Most students have completed their third meeting with their mentors. These meetings are currently focused on the EPQ writing project that the students are working on. During the meetings, the mentors brainstorm with the students about the topic they have chosen, and guide them in structuring the dissertation and conducting the research. Students and mentors discussed the professionalism of being an automotive engineer and strategy consultant, and mentors shared with students what it is like to conduct research at the PhD level. The content of each meeting is recorded.
As one of the courses of the Lucton Honours Programme, the Academic Development Guidance Course aims to cultivate students' research ability, including research interest exploration, literature reading skills development and research methodology learning, etc. It helps students to build up a complete academic methodology from both the theoretical and practical perspectives.
Dr. Steven Watson, Associate Professor in the Department of Education at the University of Cambridge, provided students with an in-depth introduction to the University of Cambridge's programmes and academic environment. In addition, Professor Watson shared interview strategies with students as a Cambridge interviewer and conducted mock interviews, offering advice designed to help each student present themselves better.
Ms. Neema Jayasinghe's courses focus more on the practical aspects of academic writing. With an undergraduate and master's degree in Education from the University of Cambridge and a current position at Cambridge University Press, Ms. Jayasinghe's classes covered choosing a topic for writing, analysing the structure of an academic essay, the use of critical thinking in essay writing, how to present an essay using academic language and rhetoric, citation norms and the use of references in essays. These practical skills will help students in their future academic careers.
Next, the Intercultural Communication Skills Course will be taught by Dr. James McCloskey of Imperial College London. He is a lecturer at Imperial College London and will provide in-depth training for students to enhance their skills in cross-cultural communication. In addition, during the application process, students will also receive interview guidance from senior tutor Ms. Mandy Zhou, who successfully helped students to receive 30 offers from University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. This will provide students with valuable experience and guidance, increasing their chances of gaining admission to the world's top institutions.
Through introduction to academic research, cross-cultural communication training and professional interview coaching, Lucton School Chongqing will help students to successfully gain admission to the world's top universities. Under the cultivation of the programme, students will not only pursue the depth of knowledge, but also improve comprehensive abilities. We look forward to seeing each student shine in Lucton Honours Programme and work hard to gain admission to their dream universities.
