A former John Gray High School Student, 26-year old Aubrey Bodden, came to speak to 16 and 17-year old students of the Gifted Cohort group at John Gray High School (JGHS) about the possibility of attending one of the United World Colleges on a full scholarship.

The colleges select students from many different countries all over the world for their two-year Baccalaureate programme.

Ms Bodden, who attended one of the colleges after graduating from John Gray High School in 2002, is very busy giving presentations about the programme to all the secondary schools on the island, so they can get their applications in ready for the deadline on 1st March.

“We typically get up to 30 applicants, and interview between four and six of them in a group. From there we will select one, two or perhaps three students for the programme, and each of those places comes with a full scholarship,” she said.

Explaining the selection criteria, Ms Bodden said: “We are looking for students between 16 and 17. In order to apply through our committee they have to be a Caymanian.

“They should be academically capable, involved in extra curricular activities, and passionate about something, like sports, or music, or helping other people”, she said. “They also must be passionate about what the UWC stands for.”

Ms Bodden told the JGHS students that attending one of the Colleges had been a very beneficial experience for her, and she had been encouraged to take part in many different activities she had never done before.

“In my 1st year I went horseback riding in Texas for a week. Its something I never would have done, and I had a lot of fun doing it,” she said.