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Westbourne graduates head to Caltech, Oxford and Cambridge

We congratulate outstanding Westbourne graduate Anthony Phung on winning a place at trailblazing STEM university, Caltech

Posted: 5th June 2024

From Westbourne to Caltech

Congratulations to Westbourne graduate Anthony Phung, who has won a place at one of the world’s most outstanding universities. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a leading global university in sciences and engineering, with the highest per capita Nobel Prize winners in the US. It is globally known for its highly selective admissions criteria, with a total student body of only approximately 2,000.

Anthony’s exceptional academic profile and significant achievements in the field of STEM have secured him a full PhD scholarship in Bioengineering at Caltech, lasting six years and including all tuition fees and personal expenses.

A star student in the IB Diploma

Anthony moved from his native Vietnam to the UK to study the IB Diploma in our award-winning Sixth Form. A hugely talented student at Westbourne, he competed in a host of UK-wide science olympiads whilst studying for the IB Diploma. He excelled in his studies, ultimately achieving an exceptional 45 Points in his IB and securing his undergraduate place at one of the world’s finest universities – the University of Cambridge.

Whilst at Westbourne, Anthony won a Gold Medal at the 2020 British Biology Olympiad and the 2021 U.K. Chemistry Olympiad and was invited to compete in the selection exams for the international Biology and Chemistry teams, before graduating with a perfect score.

He has kept in close contact with the Westbourne community whilst at Cambridge, even taking time found the time to mentor current Westbourne students, helping with revision sessions, and coaching them for Olympiad competitions.

Excellence at the University of Cambridge

After graduating from Westbourne, Anthony excelled at Cambridge studying Natural Sciences, achieving global success as part of a team of six students from the Cambridge University Synthetic Biology Society (CUSBS), who claimed a gold medal in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM).

The global competition in synthetic biology sees students from across the world use bioengineering toolkits to solve a real-life problem, ranging from therapeutics to manufacturing to climate crisis.

At Cambridge, students typically study three years for a bachelor’s and one additional year for a master’s degree. Anthony interned at Caltech in 2023, where he impressed the academic team with his outstanding academic skills and flair for research, gaining support from Caltech ahead of his PhD application. He subsequently decided to skip the master’s programme and apply directly to enrol for the PhD programme at Caltech.

"Anthony was an outstanding student whilst studying the IB Diploma Programme with us at Westbourne, and we knew then that he was destined to make a significant impact in the field of science. As a sixth form student, coming to us from Vietnam, Anthony took part in Olympiads and academic competitions across the whole country, often receiving gold awards for both biology and chemistry. He worked closely with our teachers to finesse his longer-term ambitions, which ultimately took him to one of the best universities in the world. We are so proud of him." Ms Lisa Phillips, Head of Sixth Form

The IB as a stepping stone to Oxbridge

Anthony is just one of many students who have used their IB Diploma experience to build an outstanding academic profile for entry to Oxbridge.

Fellow student, Dharani, also secured a place at Cambridge in the same year after scoring an exceptional 41 Points in the IB Diploma and excelling in public speaking and debating whilst at school. She credits the rigour of the IB and its focus on developing well-rounded students as giving her a head-start in her university application.

The truth is that Westbourne is a school like no other. The community at Westbourne is incredible. The relationships you build and the connections you make, the fact everyone is here for each other when you most need them, is something I will truly remember. The skills I learned from the IB definitely gave me a head-start at university. Dharani, Law - University of Cambridge

Westbourne College Sydney graduate, Samuel Stoddard, gained an impressive 41 IB Points in his diploma, securing him a place to study Economics and Management at the University of Oxford beginning 2024.

He gained an edge in his university application thanks to taking part in Summer@INSEAD in 2022 – an elite “mini MBA” exclusive to Westbourne students that sees students hone their business and professional acumen through a programme of workshops, research and presentation exercises, mentored by leading INSEAD professors.

Samuel’s IB Diploma portfolio directly contributed to his Oxford admission: his Extended Essay showcasing his passion and talent for undergraduate-level research and writing; and his extensive volunteering work at a local surf club undertaken as part of his CAS (Community, Activity, Service – a component of the IB’s compulsory Inner Core) demonstrating his resilience, drive and desire to contribute to the community.

"It feels incredible to receive an offer from Oxford. Over the course of the application process my self-confidence went up and down dramatically about my chances, but now I am here I am really happy and super excited for the opportunities ahead. Westbourne’s first major contribution has to be the connections they afforded me to the right people both internal and external to the school who gave me such great support which was invaluable to my application. The other was the opportunity to participate in Summer@INSEAD 2022, which was an awesome experience that formed the backbone of my personal statement demonstrating my passion for learning the subjects." Student Samuel, who will study at the University of Oxford

An edge over other university applicants

Samuel was one of three students from Westbourne College Sydney selected to visit the INSEAD headquarters in Fontainebleau, on the outskirts of Paris, to take part in a cutting-edge business and entrepreneurship programme run by the world-leading business school. They were accompanied by two pupils from our UK IB Sixth Form.

The intensive MBA-style, two-week summer programme afforded our students truly privileged access to expert academics and coaches in this field, as well as enabling them to meet and forge links with like-minded students from all over the world.

Featuring a world-class academic curriculum, company visits, talks with business leaders and entrepreneurs, as well as numerous cultural, team building and social activities, the sessions allowed the students the opportunity to finesse their skills and ambitions, build confidence, make global connections, and further develop a global future-ready approach to help shape their careers.

Westbourne is proud to have strong links to INSEAD, ranked #1 MBA school globally, through our Chairman Mr Mark Peters. We are the only UK school to provide students with exclusive access and application support to INSEAD’s intensive MBA style two-week Summer School, and are proud to extend this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to Westbourne students across the globe.

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