1. Top Universities Group
April 2016
LC, CLP, LMD, TMR, CHV, MGN

2. Messages Time to book appointments with Mrs Longman
English Lit and Creative Writing taster at Surrey (see blog)
Open days – book some (Oxford 29 and 30 June; Cambridge 30 June, 1 July – plus specific subject open days; LSE 7 July – booking opens May; UCL 17 and 18 June;

3. Why are we talking about Jerry Rice? Deliberate practice
He would typically continue practicing long after the rest of the team had gone home. Most remarkable were his six-days-a-week off-season workouts, which he conducted entirely on his own. Mornings were devoted to cardiovascular work, running a hilly five-mile trail; he would reportedly run ten forty-meter wind sprints up the steepest part. In the afternoons he did equally strenuous weight training. These workouts became legendary as the most demanding in the league… (From Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin, p. 53)

4. Ed Moses won 122 consecutive races over 10 years (1977-1987)
Most American universities offer scholarships to outstanding athletes. However, Moses applied for – and gained – a scholarship for physics and engineering at Morehouse College, Atlanta.

5. The rules of deliberate practice
Design your activity to improve your performance.
Look for repeatable tasks.
Make sure that feedback is continuously available.
It’s mentally demanding.
It isn’t much fun. (Sorry).
Are there areas of what you would like to be better at to which you could apply these rules? Discuss!