Pierre Petit studied the Advanced Level Foundation at Kings and is now at Lancaster University studying History.
He talked to us about how Kings helped him get there.
Hi Pierre. How did being at Kings help you with the process of getting into a UK university?
Thanks to Kings I knew the English language and culture before coming here (to university) so it was much easier for me.
Would you recommend the educational path that you have taken to other students from your country?
Yes, I think the university experience in the UK is a good one, I’m enjoying it a lot. I love the people, I love the campus, I love the course, so yeah, I would recommend it!
What’s it like to be at a proper UK university after being at Kings?
I think that you are much more independent than at Kings. For example, self study is very important — you have less courses in the week, we only have three hours of lectures and then six of seminars.
"Thanks to Kings I knew the English language and culture before coming to university so it was much easier for me."
How do you think this particular course will be useful, no matter what career path you choose?
It will help me with my academic writing, and History is good for developing critical thinking. Writing and critical thinking will be the main skills I develop I think.
How have you changed since you left Belgium to come and study at Kings?
The main change is that my English is much better now. Before I was scared of talking in English and now I’m more confident with that.
Also, I study better now — I wrote a lot of essays and had time to develop my essay skills a lot.
How were the staff at Kings most useful?
For my university application, the staff were very helpful — they checked for grammar mistakes and other mistakes I could have made in my personal statement. Also they helped me with my application through UCAS, they helped me to fill out all the forms. Also if I had a question about university, the teachers could help me as they have been to university before. They were very helpful.
You’ve come to Lancaster, which is a long way from Oxford, and from Belgium! Have people been friendly here?
I think the people are pretty cool with me. They think that my accent is strange, but I think theirs is strange too, so I can understand that! They are very friendly in the North, I have nothing to complain about.
