We were thrilled to hear some great news from our 2017 alumnus Oliver, who is off to study at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, part of the prestigious Ivy League in America (the US equivalent of Oxbridge).

Having achieved A*AA at LAE Stratford, Oliver secured work at several summer camps in North America, working with children with developmental difficulties. These experiences helped inspire him to apply to study at one of the best universities in America with the support of the Sutton Trust US Programme.

The Programme takes 150 of the brightest and most talented UK state school students and supports them for 18 months, exploring the US higher education system and admissions processes. It includes a week-long trip to the US to visit a number of universities and meet admissions officers from colleges across the country. More than 1,000 people applied for the 150 places on the programme.

The American university system is different to the UK one, and Oliver says that he ‘likes the way that the American system doesn’t narrow you down in terms of subject choice in the way that the UK system does. At Wharton i’ll be spending two thirds of my time studying business and a third studying liberal arts. I’m really excited about enjoying the American liberal arts experience.’

There is more to university than what goes on in the seminar rooms, and Oliver is also looking forward to exploring his interests and the huge range of opportunities available at Wharton. ‘LAE has set me up well in this respect- all the extra-curricular activities and sports at LAE will help me find my niche at university’ he says.

Notable alumni of Wharton School include US President Donald Trump, billionaire investor Warren Buffet, and founder of Tesla, SpaceX and former CEO of PayPal, Elon Musk.

We all wish Oliver the very best in his studies at Wharton School, and look forward to hearing all about his time in America.