Angela McA-K (S6), has been offered an academic scholarship at Princeton University, New Jersey. 

Moving to the Ivy League university in August 2023, the current sixth year pupil at Robert Gordon’s College will major in History, with a minor in German. 

Highlighting her interest in studying in the United States, the dream became a possibility after Angela spoke with Miss Howie, Teacher of PE. Angela shared: “At the start of March 2022 I had a chat with Miss Howie about the possibility of studying in the US and combining this with my athletics training. Before that, I had never even considered the possibility.”

Throughout her school career, Angela has consistently worked at the highest level, achieving eight Band 1 As at National 5 and five Band 1 As at Higher. Sharing how the support of her teachers has been instrumental she highlighted: “My Higher subject teachers went to incredible lengths to help me and without them the five Band 1 As would have certainly not have happened. Thank you Miss England, Ms Speidel, Mrs Buckley, Mr Gibb and Mr Christie! Also Mrs Pirie and Mrs Drummond for the wonderful support throughout the whole application process. It really took a whole village of people to get this right.”

Advancing her athletics career with the Princeton Tigers, Angela added: “At that same time as starting the application process to Princeton, I moved to a new athletics coach, Jim Green who is based in Glasgow. His support helped improve my hammer throw distance from 42m in March 2022, to winning the U17 age group in the UK School Games and English Athletics Championships in August 2022 with 58.55m. He really showed me what I can achieve in athletics.

“I’m really looking forward to being able to study history more in depth, and picking really specific courses I know I will love like Russian and Eastern European history. As well as training together with a team of athletes at a remarkable standard, who are also lovely.

“I want to experience as many things as possible and take advantage of new opportunities. I am also looking forward to a change of location and getting to experience how different life will be in a new continent. I love a good adventure!”

Congratulating Angela, Mrs Smith, Head of Senior School commented: “We are very proud of Angela and delighted all her hard work has paid off. This is such a fantastic opportunity for her; we look forward to keeping in touch and hearing all about her adventures.”

Supporting Angela through the application process for studying abroad, Mrs Pirie, Head of Universities and Careers said: “Angela is an exceptional young person who has made the most of every opportunity afforded to her during her time at RGC. Her success is totally down to her hard work, determination and perseverance. Angela has all the qualities necessary to be successful at Princeton and the Universities & Careers Team feel privileged to have supported her in her journey.”

Mrs Drummond, Head of Guidance added: “I have never met a pupil as dedicated to both their sport and academics as Angela is. Once Angela sets her mind on a goal, she works relentlessly to achieve it. She is very deserving of this wonderful opportunity. She is modest and kind hearted and I wish her every success at Princeton and beyond.”

Mr Hardie, Teacher of History commented: “Throughout senior school, Angela has shown a willingness to read beyond the core texts in order to better grasp the historical events she is studying. Her appetite for hard work, desire to understand how the past has shaped the present and readiness to discuss her thoughts will stand her in very good stead in her future studies.”

Ms Speidel, Teacher of German shared: “Angela's interest in German and her enthusiasm for learning the language is evident. She will often come to see me and ask further questions about advanced grammatical concepts and from her questions it is very clear that she not only has a great interest but also a very good understanding of German, which is further backed up by her consistently outstanding assessment results.”

Miss England, Teacher of English said: “Angela is someone I know will go on to achieve incredible things. She is never satisfied with not knowing and so goes out of her way to research topics further, to read more widely and to examine issues from multiple perspectives. She is already accustomed to working with the level of independence university study demands.”

Mr Macpherson, Head of College summarised: “We’re so proud of Angela and her success shows that a Robert Gordon’s education can lead you anywhere in the world. Her success will inspire many others to aim high and I fully expect that other RGC pupils will be following in her footsteps.”

Angela attended St Joseph's Primary School before joining Robert Gordon’s College in S1 on a bursary. Robert Gordon’s College is proud to offer a Bursary programme that currently sees 1 in 7 Senior School pupils benefit from the programme. On completion of her undergraduate degree at Princeton she hopes to pursue a degree in Law, but also has a keen interest in international diplomacy.

Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. The school's athletic team, the Princeton Tigers, has won the most titles in its conference and has sent many students and alumni to the Olympics.