Our Journey
Our founder, Sarah Alakija, is a Cambridge Law graduate who has worked for twenty years in the independent sixth form sector. Extremely well versed in all aspects of university applications, Sarah is also a good listener who hears what students and parents want. She has the patience of a saint which is pretty helpful with teenagers, as is her certificate in Youth Mental Health First Aid. She also works as an Independent Listener for an HMC boarding school.
Sarah has worked in independent schools since 1997, in a variety of roles including Vice Principal and as Head of an award-winning Careers department. She has undertaken consultancy work for a number of independent day and boarding schools, including an HMC boarding school and a international schools in Malaysia and Turkey. She was educated at the University of Cambridge, where she read Law.
Sarah can offer guidance on applications for most subjects, with special expertise in social sciences. Experienced with applications to Oxford and Cambridge, she has authored four editions of the Trotman guide “Getting into Oxford and Cambridge.” Latterly she has helped to design the curriculum for an online course for international students wishing to make British university applications. Sarah is aware of how important it is that parents feel informed about the application process and has given a number of presentations to help parents find their way through the maze of the UCAS system and the personal statement. In addition, she presents engaging workshops to students, helping them to prepare the best application to university, as well as helping teachers, both in the UK and abroad, to construct references for their students.
She has always enjoyed working with teenagers, offering them support throughout the university application process. She encourages families to see the process as a long-term strategy, which starts with an appropriate selection of A Level/IB or equivalent subjects and continues with carefully curated research in the form of books, lectures, podcasts, summer courses and other bespoke recommendations. Discrete and highly knowledgeable, Sarah is adept at listening carefully to students and parents in order to ascertain what is required and will put together a strategy to achieve the most appropriate goals.
Sarah has worked in independent schools since 1997, in a variety of roles including Vice Principal and as Head of an award-winning Careers department. She has undertaken consultancy work for a number of independent day and boarding schools, including an HMC boarding school and a international schools in Malaysia and Turkey. She was educated at the University of Cambridge, where she read Law.
Sarah can offer guidance on applications for most subjects, with special expertise in social sciences. Experienced with applications to Oxford and Cambridge, she has authored four editions of the Trotman guide “Getting into Oxford and Cambridge.” Latterly she has helped to design the curriculum for an online course for international students wishing to make British university applications. Sarah is aware of how important it is that parents feel informed about the application process and has given a number of presentations to help parents find their way through the maze of the UCAS system and the personal statement. In addition, she presents engaging workshops to students, helping them to prepare the best application to university, as well as helping teachers, both in the UK and abroad, to construct references for their students.
She has always enjoyed working with teenagers, offering them support throughout the university application process. She encourages families to see the process as a long-term strategy, which starts with an appropriate selection of A Level/IB or equivalent subjects and continues with carefully curated research in the form of books, lectures, podcasts, summer courses and other bespoke recommendations. Discrete and highly knowledgeable, Sarah is adept at listening carefully to students and parents in order to ascertain what is required and will put together a strategy to achieve the most appropriate goals.
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