Louise Richardson is 22 and from Newcastle. She read French at Oxford and recently achieved a first class degree.

You recently achieved a First Class Honours Degree from Oxford in French. What it was like going from a small school in Newcastle to one of the most prestigious universities in the world?
It was both terrifying and hugely exciting! I felt my interview hadn’t gone very well so wasn’t really expecting to get in, so it was a fantastic surprise when I received the offer letter! I was pretty nervous about going as I knew it was going to be really hard work, but also felt very privileged that I’d been given such a fantastic opportunity. I experienced a bit of a culture shock to begin with but I soon adjusted, and unfortunately managed to completely lose my Geordie accent by the end of the first year!

Did you have a similar background to your fellow students?
The other modern languages students at my college, Christ Church, had quite varied backgrounds in terms of schooling but I was the only one from the north. Also most of my fellow students had spent a lot of time in France (two of them were actually half French) whereas I’d only ever been once for a two week holiday!

Were you daunted by the prospect of studying at such a famous university?
Yes very much, so not only was I daunted by the fact that I knew I was surrounded by incredibly intelligent people, but Oxford as a place is quite daunting as you’re surrounded by very prestigious looking old buildings and paintings of famous ex-alumni like Lewis Carroll, John Locke and countless Prime Ministers. The traditions which are upheld there can be pretty daunting too, like saying grace in Latin before you eat and having to wear full academic dress to exams.

What did you enjoy most and least about studying at Oxford?
I most enjoyed being immersed in such an intellectually stimulating environment and being taught by some of the most intelligent people in the country. One of my tutors said to me in first year that if you don’t leave Oxford a hell of a lot more intelligent than you were when you arrived then something has gone seriously wrong!

The thing I least enjoyed was the amount of work I had to do during the holidays. Once I actually had to read 15 French novels and 6 plays as well as write 3 essays during my Easter holidays which didn’t leave time for much else!
 
How old were you when you realized you had a gift for learning languages?
I think I was probably about 12. I did French and German at school and was always top of the class in both and seemed to have a gift for memorising vocabulary for some reason!
 
Did you have a teacher who inspired you and helped you to Shine?
I was lucky enough to go to a fantastic school where all the teachers were very supportive and encouraging. However there were two in particular who helped me to excel in French, my GCSE teacher Mr Strong who always managed to make learning grammar fun with the aid of about a million flash cards and some crazy games, and Mrs Fairbairn, my A level teacher and tutor who introduced me to French literature and always got the best out of me.
 
What advice would you give other young people thinking of applying to Oxford? How can they prepare?
If you want it enough, then just go for it, no matter what your background or school, if you’re passionate about your subject and your grades are good enough, there s no reason why you shouldn’t apply. In terms of preparing for interviews, I think the best thing to do, though it may sound clichéd, is to just be yourself – don’t try too hard to impress or be someone you’re not as they’ll see straight through you.

What do you think about having a national celebration of talent like Shine week?
I think it’s a fantastic idea – young people get a lot of bad press in Britain these days but something like Shine week not only shows the other side of the coin by revealing how amazingly talented some of our youngsters are but will also encourage more young people to develop talents they may not even know they had!

How can teachers best help their students fulfill their potential and Shine?
I think it is important for teachers themselves to be passionate about what they are teaching as that passion will rub off on their students, and for them to encourage and nurture talent and push their pupils to be the best they can possibly be. Sometimes in order for someone to fulfill their potential they need to be pushed outside their comfort zone.