Oxbridge Academic Programs - The Cambridge Prep Experience

Professor Andrew Motion. Professor Motion was the Poet Laureate of England, a post renowned for its other former holders such as William Wordsworth, Lord Tennyson, and Ted Hughes. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the author of acclaimed biographies and anthologies of poetry, including Philip Larkin: A Writer’s Life (1994) and Keats (1998). Having edited an anthology of First World War poetry and published a fictional biography of John Keats, both in 2003, his most recent publication is his autobiography, In the Blood: A Memoir of My Childhood, which was published in 2006. Our students are able to enjoy the Poet Laureate reading his poetry and discuss his poems with him.

Tony Benn. One of the best known and most controversial figures in British politics, Tony Benn retired from Parliament in 2001 after 50 years in the chamber, making him the longest serving Labour MP in British history. He was a Cabinet minister for two Labour governments and was President of the Council of European Energy Ministers. A member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party for 35 years and former Chairman, Mr Benn offers our students a fascinating perspective on British history and the relationship between Britain and the United States.

General Sir Michael Rose. KCB CBE DSO QGM. Sir Michael is one of the most highly decorated British soldiers of the 20th century. He was Adjutant General of the British Army, Aide-de-Camp General to Queen Elizabeth II, and Commander of the United Nations Protection Force that operated in Bosnia. He was originally commissioned into the Coldstream Guards, was selected for service in the Special Air Service (SAS) and then commanded the 22nd SAS Regiment. He served in Malaysia, Oman, Germany, Northern Ireland, and the Falkland Islands. He now directs Control Risks Group, a private security and consulting company and writes on peacekeeping issues and challenges to global security.

Don Winslow. Novelist, military historian, theater director, screenwriter, actor, and former private investigator, Mr Winslow is also a founding faculty member of Oxbridge Academic Programs. Both in individual class workshops and in a presentation before the group as a whole, Mr Winslow reads excerpts from his eleven novels (which include The Power of the Dog, The Winter of Frankie Machine, and most recently, The Dawn Patrol), discusses the art of writing experientially and offers his unique perspectives on transferring the written word from the page to the stage, the small screen, or the cinema. An animated speaker and a consistent favorite among the students, his presentation culminates with a candid question and answer session about being a career author and storyteller.

Dr Helen Kidd. A renowned Oxford poet, Dr Kidd is a lecturer in English Studies at Oxford Brookes University and a tutor at Ruskin College, Oxford. She was a member of The Oxford Tradition’s teaching faculty for over twenty years. As a poet, she performs readings and holds workshops throughout Europe. She has published many volumes of poetry, including Sleight of Foot in 1996, The Paper City in 1997 and Ultraviolet Catastrophe in 2003. In 2005, Blue Weather, was released to much acclaim, having won the 2003/4 Cork Manuscript Prize. She is also co-editor of The Virago Book of Love Poetry and, as a scholar in her own right, has publised on feminist theory and criticism, contemporary poetry, and the literature of the British Isles and the Caribbean.

Baba Brinkman. Baba has written and performed original rap and spoken word poetry for over a decade. His transformation of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales into a hip-hop epic was met with critical acclaim that included his recruitment to Cambridge University’s English Faculty for his innovative and inventive approach to literature. He holds a BA (Hons) from Simon Fraser University and an MA from the University of Victoria and, as a thoughtful and engaging lyricist, he explores the differences and similarities between rap music and literary poetry. He founded Babasword Productions in 2004 for the creation and promotion of educational, literature-based entertainment; in 2007 he established the indie record label Lit Fuse Records, and in 2008 formed the hip-hop group Mud Sun.

Capt. Jonny White. Capt. White is a former commander and member of C-Squadron, Royal Dragoon Guards, a regiment of the British Army that was established in 1689 and has fought with distinction in most campaigns to date. Educated at Sandhurst, he has served in England, Germany, Northern Ireland, Canada, and Oman. He has worked closely with intelligence agencies and Special Forces, and has taught university undergraduates as a Territorial Army officer. With experience of military training, armor deployment and strategy, the Northern Ireland peace process, and Middle Eastern politics, Capt. White addresses the students on the role of mobile armor in modern warfare and how today’s military operates.

Professor Christopher Andrew. Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, former Visiting Professor of National Security at Harvard University, frequent BBC commentator, and the President of Corpus Christi College, Professor Andrew is one of the world’s foremost experts on British, US, and Soviet intelligence services. Much of his recent research draws upon the unique collection of documents and notes that the defector Vasili Mitrokhin stole from his KGB masters and brought to the West. A perennial favorite with our students, he talks about the role of intelligence agencies in the post-Cold War era.

Dr Anna Eriksson. A lecturer and fellow at King’s College London, Dr Eriksson is a Cambridge-trained criminologist specializing in the judicial and social issues surrounding Northern Ireland’s recent past. Swedish and originally educated in Australia, she undertook her Master’s and PhD at Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology, while at the same time teaching on The Cambridge Tradition, after which she lectured at Monash University in Australia. Her research interests include restorative justice, conflict resolution, and victimology, all of which feature in her recent book, Justice in Transition: Community Restorative Justice in North Ireland.