A STUDENT at Tadcaster Grammar School will get first-hand experience of life at a top university after being offered a much sought-after place at a summer school.

Year 12 pupil Kira Crabtree has gained a place at a UNIQ summer school, run by the University of Oxford.

Competition for places is tough with more than 5,000 students applying and only 875 places awarded.

Kira was told about the opportunity to apply by Ros Knapton, director of sixth form at Tadcaster Grammar, and decided to give it a try.

She was thrilled when she received an email offering her a place.

Kira will go down to Oxford for a week, staying in one of the colleges. The course is funded by the University of Oxford and includes all travelling expenses.

She will attend an academic programme during the day and social activities in the evenings.

Kira will be studying classical archaeology and ancient history.

Throughout the week she will attend lectures and take part in seminars or debates on a wide range of topics, from the trade and production of Pompeii to the gory details of the Battle of Plataea. There will also be workshops and a chance to go behind the scenes at the Ashmolean Museum during a handling session, looking at and discussing objects from ancient civilisations.

Throughout the week Kira will need to prepare a short essay for a tutorial with one of the tutors.

Mrs Knapton said: "As a school we are extremely proud of Kira, she has done incredibly well to be offered a chance to experience life at one of the top universities."