Identical Twins Receive Offers from Oxford University
We have been celebrating some wonderful news this week as boys received offers from Oxford University. This year there has been a twist to the tale as identical twins, Johnny and Tom, were both successful in being offered places for next academic year.
Their Housemaster, William Mackenzie-Green, who has supported the boys throughout their time at school is rightly proud. “When an exceptional young person does brilliant things, we all sit up and take note. But when two exceptional young brothers continually do brilliant things, they become remarkable. Johnny and Tom are two outstanding young men. They are ferociously bright and have a hunger to learn and understand the world around them. But beyond this they are also two thoroughly decent young men - kind, considerate, quirky and stacked full of personality.”
Johnny has an offer to read History & Politics at Magdalen College and Tom received an offer to read Theology & Religion at St John’s College. Both boys have played a huge part in school life throughout their time at Sherborne Boys, making the absolute most of all the opportunities available to them.
In addition to his academic studies Johnny has found time to set up Civic Shift, a political nonprofit organisation that seeks to advance youth civic engagement and improve the relationship between youth and democracy in the UK. Both boys represent England in the U18 Fly Fishing team, Johnny is Head Boy and captains the Fives team; Tom is the School’s Chapel and Charity Prefect, Deputy Head of House, plays for the first Cricket team and both are involved with music, debating and much more besides.
The twins are characteristically modest about their achievements. Johnny said, "I think the result speaks more for others than me, so I am therefore immensely thankful to everyone who helped me succeed in this process." Tom adds, perhaps unsurprisingly for a theologian, “‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.’ With the above in mind, I have profound gratitude for those who have enabled me to realise this stage in my theological and personal journey.”
Simon Heard, Headmaster of Sherborne Boys, said, “Johnny and Tom’s success is a wonderful reflection not only of their intellectual curiosity and academic discipline, but of the generosity of spirit with which they approach everything they do. They have embraced school life in the fullest sense – leading and contributing far beyond the classroom in a very impressive year group. We are immensely proud of them and all our fabulous boys who have applied across the spectrum of universities and courses this year - we are delighted to see all their talents and hard work recognised in many fantastic offers such as these.”
Johnny and Tom will join another pair of identical Old Shirburnian twins, Otis and Max, who are both currently studying at Oxford. As Deputy Head (Sixth Form) Alex Boyd-Williams points out, “There can’t be too many schools in the world where two sets of identical twins have successfully received offers from Oxford within two years!"
