Carfax College

We’re delighted to announce that Violetta Skittides received a 2017 CIFE Award this April for her exceptional contribution to Carfax College . She received the award from CIFE President Lord Lexden at a ceremony in the House of Lords.

Violetta came to Carfax College from Cyprus in September 2015 to take a one-year A level course in Mathematics, French, and Economics. She developed her academic interests further through additional studies in philosophy and, after achieving an excellent set of final exam results, took up a place at the New College of Humanities in London. During her time in Oxford, Violetta involved herself fully in the social life of the student community, and took the lead as the College’s representative in a new forum for creating connections and organizing collective events with students from other colleges in the city.

We’re delighted that Carfax student Huaqing Hong was awarded a 2016 CIFE Prize for his outstanding contribution to college life.  Huaqing moved from China in the summer of 2014. He joined Carfax College in order to complete his A levels in one year and apply to continue into higher education within the UK. He finished with straight A grades in Economics, Physics, and Mathematics, and has gone on to read Economics at the University of Edinburgh.

Besides his academic success, Huaqing was keen to get involved in college life outside the classroom, joining the College’s Polo programme despite never having played before, and contributing to the College’s respectable showing at the inaugural CIFE Challenge.

Huaqing is shown below with a member of Carfax staff at the Awards ceremony held at the House of Lords in March 2016.

We’re delighted that Carfax student Aleksandr Bogomil was presented with a 2015 CIFE College Prize for outstanding contribution to college life.

After finishing school in Russia, Alex’s ambition was to attend one of England’s great ancient universities. With that aim in mind, he enrolled on an intensive one-year individual A level course at Carfax. After an autumn of dedicated preparation, Alex went for interview at Cambridge, and was subsequently offered a conditional place to read Engineering at Sidney Sussex College. Ultimately, Alex more than met the conditions of his offer, obtaining A* grades in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, and Physics, only falling a few marks short of a fourth A* in Economics. While in Oxford, Alex was very active outside the classroom, trying his hand at debating, squash, and fencing, among other activities.

The photograph below shows Aleksandr (second right) with Lord Lexden (centre), Principal Rupert Alesbury (left) and his family on the terrace of the House of Lords after the Awards ceremony.

We’re delighted to announce that Daria Rybak was awarded this year’s Carfax college prize. Daria received her prize from CIFE President Lord Lexden in a ceremony held at the House of Lords this March.

Daria did remarkably in completing her A levels within a year and a half, while dividing her time and attention between her academic studies in the UK and the pursuit of her true passion, music, at a conservatoire in Switzerland. Undeniably talented, she showed admirable tenacity and good cheer in overcoming the disruption caused by frequent travel back and forth, and in managing to sustain the required levels of effort and practice across all disciplines.

Daria deservedly finished with a set of A grades in her A levels and, after auditioning successfully, has taken up the offer of a place to train as a soprano at the Royal College of Music.

We’re delighted that Carfax student Yutaro Saito was honoured with a CIFE College Prize for outstanding contribution to college life.

Yutaro came to Carfax from Japan with very limited English but with a clear ambition, to find a way to pursue his nascent academic interest in two rather specific subject areas, the Sanskrit language and traditional Buddhist philosophy. Only one and a half years later, he left with a very creditable set of A level results and a place at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. It was not easy for him, adapting to an entirely new linguistic and academic environment, overcoming some difficult personal circumstances along the way, so it is to his great credit that he persevered and is now happily continuing along his chosen academic path.

Yutaro is pictured here with Carfax staff (Principal Rupert Alesbury on right)