UCAS Conference 2024 - Access All Areas

Helen has been at Cambridge since 2003 and is Head of Admissions and Data Services.  Helen’s team supports the 29 Cambridge Colleges and the academic faculties and departments in all aspects of the admission of undergraduates across the university. 

After graduating with a BA (hons) European Studies with German, Helen was President of her JCR for a year and then moved into a Schools Liaison role.  After a brief stint with Anglian Water, Helen went on to work in the School of Physical Sciences and Engineering as an Undergraduate Admissions Officer at King’s College London; a role which confirmed her commitment to, and interest in, all things admissions and widening access.

Helen has previously served as Secretary to the Academic Registrars’ Council’s Admissions Practitioners’ Group and participates in various UCAS groups, the Russell Group Admissions Forum, and the Cambridge University Press & Assessment HE Forum.

In Cambridge, Helen oversees a broad and varied remit which includes application enquiries, admissions policies and procedures, compliance, systems development and maintenance, digital admissions services, research, analysis, evaluation, and monitoring.  Helen has a specific interest in digital services and is heavily involved in the Digital Admissions Project, which most recently includes the launch of ‘My Cambridge Application’ and Digital ‘Pooling’.  Helen proposed and oversaw the implementation of the ‘August Reconsideration Pool’, a key widening access initiative for Cambridge applicants, which launched in 2019. Helen has been heavily involved in the implementation and administration of admissions testing throughout her time in Cambridge and is supporting the University Admissions Tests UK (UAT-UK) team in the smooth transition of the ESAT and TMUA to Pearson VUE.