Westbourne graduates at Caltech, Oxford and Cambridge

Congratulations to Westbourne UK graduate Anthony Phung, who has won a place at one of the world’s most outstanding universities. The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a leading global university in sciences and engineering, with the highest per capita Nobel Prize winners in the US. It is globally known for its highly selective admissions criteria, with a total student body of only aproximately 2,000.

Anthony’s exceptional academic profile and significant achievements in the field of STEM have secured him a full PhD scholarship in Bioengineering at Caltech, lasting six years and including all tuition fees and personal expenses.

A star student in the IB Diploma

Anthony moved from his native Vietnam to the UK to study the IB Diploma in our award-winning Sixth Form. A hugely talented student at Westbourne, he competed in a host of UK-wide science olympiads whilst studying for the IB Diploma. He excelled in his studies, ultimately achieving an exceptional 45 Points in his IB and securing his undergraduate place at one of the world’s finest universities – the University of Cambridge.

Whilst at Westbourne, Anthony won a Gold Medal at the 2020 British Biology Olympiad and the 2021 U.K. Chemistry Olympiad and was invited to compete in the selection exams for the international Biology and Chemistry teams, before graduating with a perfect score.

He has kept in close contact with the Westbourne community whilst at Cambridge, even taking time found the time to mentor current Westbourne students, helping with revision sessions, and coaching them for Olympiad competitions.

Excellence at the University of Cambridge

After graduating from Westbourne, Anthony excelled at Cambridge studying Natural Sciences, achieving global success as part of a team of six students from the Cambridge University Synthetic Biology Society (CUSBS), who claimed a gold medal in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM).

The global competition in synthetic biology sees students from across the world use bioengineering toolkits to solve a real-life problem, ranging from therapeutics to manufacturing to climate crisis.

At Cambridge, students typically study three years for a bachelor’s and one additional year for a master’s degree. Anthony decided to skip the master’s program and apply directly to enrol for the PhD programme at Caltech.

He interned at Caltech in 2023, where he impressed the academic team with his outstanding academic skills and flair for research, gaining support from Caltech ahead of his PhD application.

The IB as a stepping stone to Oxbridge

Anthony is just one of many students who have used their IB Diploma experience to build an outstanding academic profile for entry to Oxbridge. Westbourne College Sydney graduate, Samuel Stoddard, gained an impressive 41 IB Points in his diploma, securing him a place to study Economics and Management at the University of Oxford beginning 2024.

He gained an edge in his university application thanks to taking part in Summer@INSEAD in 2022 – an elite “mini MBA” exclusive to Westbourne students that sees students hone their business and professional acumen through a programme of workshops, research and presentation exercises, mentored by leading INSEAD professors.