Cambridge Chiefs Seek Help From Soaps

[di marco]

Cambridge University chiefs have asked producers of the UK's top three soaps to feature the institution in their storylines.

EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale have all been asked to help shed the perception that the historic university is "not for young people from ordinary backgrounds".

"It's about challenging myths about studying at Cambridge," a spokesman explained. "People think it's an expensive place to study when in fact, because of short terms and the availability of college accommodation, the bills can be lower. We have some of the most generous student support packages around and it's an unlimited pot: we don't run out of cash."

The representative added: "It's really important to get a popular message across about raising young people's aspirations and showing them the range of options on offer."

EastEnders characters Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) and Libby Fox (Belinda Owusu) have already discussed applying to both Cambridge and its long-time rival Oxford on the show.

A spokeswoman for Oxford added: "I did speak to somebody at EastEnders about our bursary scheme in case the storyline was going to continue. We wanted to make sure they knew what kind of assistance might be available to someone like Libby."

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tbh i dont really see how they think this is going to help them?

(btw i put this in ee cos it mentions ee specifically even though it says its to do with all soaps, hope thats ok)

[Perdita]

I believe that Todd Grimshaw from Corrie (or rather his mum Eileen wanted him to go) was hoping to go to Cambridge as he was quite bright, Sarah's pregnancy and his admittance of being gay put an end to the storyline. I don't see why some characters from all the soaps could go to Cambridge/Oxford and then they can enter the annual boat race :cheer:

[Trinity]

I believe that Todd Grimshaw from Corrie (or rather his mum Eileen wanted him to go) was hoping to go to Cambridge as he was quite bright, Sarah's pregnancy and his admittance of being gay put an end to the storyline. I don't see why some characters from all the soaps could go to Cambridge/Oxford and then they can enter the annual boat race :cheer:

We could see them on University Challenge getting a dressing down from Jeremy Paxman.

[Chris_2k11]

Im sure they've both been mentioned on Hollyoaks before at some point but as usual they've left it off the list.

[di marco]

Im sure they've both been mentioned on Hollyoaks before at some point but as usual they've left it off the list.

they probably think they dont wanna be associated with hollyoaks! :rolleyes: although surely hollyoaks would be the best one seeing as most of its viewers are younger people?

[LostVoodoo]

I believe that Todd Grimshaw from Corrie (or rather his mum Eileen wanted him to go) was hoping to go to Cambridge as he was quite bright, Sarah's pregnancy and his admittance of being gay put an end to the storyline. I don't see why some characters from all the soaps could go to Cambridge/Oxford and then they can enter the annual boat race :cheer:

yes i seem to remember he was magically offered a place at Oxford without going through the application and interview process :rolleyes: that whole storyline annoyed me; he decided he wasn't going to Oxford because he wanted to be with Sarah. yes that's fine, but it somehow meant that he wasn't going to do any of his A-levels or go to uni at all- there's a perfectly decent university in Manchester ffs!

anyway, i really hope that Libby and/or Tamwar get to go to uni. its ridiculous that nearly every young person in corrie and eastenders leaves school at 16 and then works in a shop or behind a bar on the street/the square. and i remember when Sonia went to college to be a nurse everyone was going on about how she was neglecting her husband and hanging around with posh doctors etc. if they want to keep Libby and Tamwar in the show there's world class universities in London they could go to- LSE isn't that shabby!

[di marco]

anyway, i really hope that Libby and/or Tamwar get to go to uni. its ridiculous that nearly every young person in corrie and eastenders leaves school at 16 and then works in a shop or behind a bar on the street/the square. and i remember when Sonia went to college to be a nurse everyone was going on about how she was neglecting her husband and hanging around with posh doctors etc. if they want to keep Libby and Tamwar in the show there's world class universities in London they could go to- LSE isn't that shabby!

i agree that it would be silly if neither tamwar or libby went to uni in the end, as you say, theres loads of unis in london. although i think it would be a bit unrealistic if both of them got offered a place at oxford/cambridge, seeing how difficult it is to get into them, its not just about getting all As lol!

[Katy]

It is a good idea as there was an article in the paper up here about a girl who got into cambridge but did not accept as she felt it was too snobby and she was the only one from a public school not private. To be honest i think there was a lsight exageration.

[Perdita]

anyway, i really hope that Libby and/or Tamwar get to go to uni. its ridiculous that nearly every young person in corrie and eastenders leaves school at 16 and then works in a shop or behind a bar on the street/the square. and i remember when Sonia went to college to be a nurse everyone was going on about how she was neglecting her husband and hanging around with posh doctors etc. if they want to keep Libby and Tamwar in the show there's world class universities in London they could go to- LSE isn't that shabby!

i agree that it would be silly if neither tamwar or libby went to uni in the end, as you say, theres loads of unis in london. although i think it would be a bit unrealistic if both of them got offered a place at oxford/cambridge, seeing how difficult it is to get into them, its not just about getting all As lol!


I would like to see one of them go to Oxford and the other one to Cambridge. I could see sparks fly between their mothers as to who is getting better education and who is doing better and so on, which would be fun. If they made their studies realistic, it would show viewers what life in those two universities is really like and could help people applying to go to uni.

[di marco]

anyway, i really hope that Libby and/or Tamwar get to go to uni. its ridiculous that nearly every young person in corrie and eastenders leaves school at 16 and then works in a shop or behind a bar on the street/the square. and i remember when Sonia went to college to be a nurse everyone was going on about how she was neglecting her husband and hanging around with posh doctors etc. if they want to keep Libby and Tamwar in the show there's world class universities in London they could go to- LSE isn't that shabby!

i agree that it would be silly if neither tamwar or libby went to uni in the end, as you say, theres loads of unis in london. although i think it would be a bit unrealistic if both of them got offered a place at oxford/cambridge, seeing how difficult it is to get into them, its not just about getting all As lol!


I would like to see one of them go to Oxford and the other one to Cambridge. I could see sparks fly between their mothers as to who is getting better education and who is doing better and so on, which would be fun. If they made their studies realistic, it would show viewers what life in those two universities is really like and could help people applying to go to uni.

the thing is though, its so competitive to get into oxford/cambridge that it would be unrealistic for both to get into them. its not just about getting 4/5 As. a lot of people even if theyve got 12 A*s at gcse and 5 As at alevel dont even get an interview. i suppose it would be good if one of them got in though

[Abbie]

I dont see how it will help, I mean in my mind just cos I saw them mention it on telly in a soap I wont think of going there. I want to do my own thing and stuff

[di marco]

I dont see how it will help, I mean in my mind just cos I saw them mention it on telly in a soap I wont think of going there. I want to do my own thing and stuff

exactly, i agree. and in my mind i still think it was snobby, no matter how often people say otherwise cos unless i actually went there it wouldnt change my mind. and i didnt choose to go there, not cos of the "snob factor" but cos it didnt do what i wanted

[Kim]

Maybe they would mention Ruby Allen somehow and say that she got in. I think it would be ridiculous if they did though because she only got A*'s in half of her subjects. And she got B's and C's at AS when she was living with the Slaters so she'd have had a lot of resitting to do.

EastEnders have gone too far in showing the rivalry between Libby and Tamwar. Libby said Tam got an A* in some Chemistry essay when they were doing AS; A*'s are only in for this year and the only time they're awarded to us is on final results and not at AS.

[di marco]

EastEnders have gone too far in showing the rivalry between Libby and Tamwar. Libby said Tam got an A* in some Chemistry essay when they were doing AS; A*'s are only in for this year and the only time they're awarded to us is on final results and not at AS.

maybe it was just an essay in class rather than a mark for cw or something like that. however i dont know of any schools/college that would mark classwork with an A* when grades only go up to an A