Upper Sixth students Denis and Dasha Aven are delighted to hear that they have been awarded two of the 500 unconditional places at the prestigious Yale University, one of the top academic institutions in the world. The twins have applied for ‘early action’, which means that the preliminary decision is made in December. A further 1,500 places are offered later in the year. The university receives 30,000 applications annually and a total of 2000 places are awarded.

The application process is an arduous one and Yale demands exceptionally high academic profiles from their students. Both Denis and Dasha have worked with outstanding determination and diligence; they grasp at every opportunity open to them, in fact they even fill their holidays with educational courses. Denis and Dasha attended a Russian Literature Arts History course last summer and both students are fluent in Russian and German. When carrying out a project for a Jewish Charity Organisation it was said of Denis: “Higher education thrives on students who seek to change the world and posses the skill-set to enact such a change – Denis will be one of those students who will shine in his studies.” They also said of Dasha: “I wholeheartedly recommend her for any academic programme that embraces and leverages students’ enthusiasm, research skills, “out-of-the-box” thinking, and ability to see and analyze the world from a historical perspective.

Denis and Dasha are certainly worthy of these accolades and we are very proud of their achievements. We know they will rise to the challenges that attending such a first class university will bring and we wish them happy and successful futures when they join next October. Denis wants to major in Mathematics and Economics and Dasha in Corporate Law.