On Sunday we welcomed our second cohort of students to St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. Throughout the day, students from across the world arrived in college for the start of their programmes with ORA. As the coaches, buses and cars pulled up, Catz gradually filled throughout the afternoon and everything went smoothly thanks to our brilliant campus staff who were on hand to register all of our students on arrival.

Our dedicated team of counsellors helped with their luggage, showing them to their rooms. Once students had settled into their lodgings, they headed down to the quad to congregate as a large group. Despite a few understandable nerves, the air was full of excitement and anticipation as everyone began to introduce themselves to one another as they enjoyed some well-deserved refreshments.

Once everyone had finished their refreshments, it was time to head inside for some welcome talks. These talks provided all of our students with information about the college, city and their timetable. It was also a good opportunity for the campus staff to remind the students of the core values of the ORA programmes. Namely, the importance of showing respect to one another, as well as the significance of applying themselves fully in their classes.

After the more formal proceedings ended, students enjoyed some fun icebreaker activities which were run by the counsellors and junior deans. They played games which included; the name game, uno, cards and giant jenga which proved very entertaining. This helped them to come out of their shells as they got to know one another better.

On Sunday we also celebrated Lukas and Khalid’s birthday, and of course it was essential to treat them to a delicious cake, which the whole group shared together. Happy Birthday Lukas and Khalid and welcome to all of our students at Catz.