Two students gain places at Royal College of Art @RCA

Two BA (Hons) Fine Art students from University Centre Hastings have been offered places at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London.

Oscar Yasamee and Godith Hawkins were thrilled to accept their places at the college in March and are now looking forward to starting their postgraduate degrees in September.

The Fine Art students, who are currently preparing for the private view of the final year art show on 15th June at University Centre Hastings, will be moving to London to begin MAs in Painting and Photography.

“I was delighted when I received my offer,” said Godith. “I knew that if I wanted to do a Master’s degree that I would only want go to the Royal College of Art.”

Oscar and Godith travelled to London for their interview’s, Oscar said: “It was a daunting prospect going up to London for the interview and to be honest, I felt as though it didn’t go very well. So, I had kind of settled on the idea of re-applying and going the next year, but when I received the offer I was really pleased.”

The application process required Oscar and Godith to submit personal statements and examples of their work, before being invited to interviews where they had 20 minutes to talk about their work and make their cases as to why they should be offered a place.

Godith said: “My three years studying at UCH have been great and the contact time with tutors has been instrumental, without it; I wouldn’t have been so well prepared for the interview. I don’t think any other large university would have been able to help me in the way that this one has.”

Oscar said: “Even things like having regular access to the facilities, which you don’t get anywhere else, meant that I have been able to explore the things that I enjoy. All of this has helped to prepare me for my masters.”

David Fowler, Higher Education Manager at University Centre Hastings, said: “The Royal College of Art is possibly the most famous post-graduate art and design college in the world. Approximately only 40 places are given out per course worldwide each year, making it one of the hardest institutions to get into. To have one student gain a place would have been fantastic, but to have two is phenomenal. Oscar and Godith should be really proud of their achievements, and this news should serve as a real inspiration for other students studying with us. It shows just how far the University Centre has come in such a short space of time since opening in September 2017.”

Each MA course is run for two years and costs £9,500 per year. Oscar and Godith have set up a crowdfunding page to try and help towards tuition costs and materials. If you would like to donate and buy some of their work you can do so here.