I have applied to Cambridge because I have a burning and all-consuming passion for history and am determined to study it at your college. I also have an all-consuming passion for ancient history, religious studies, chemistry and french. I would even be willing to study classics.

All of these interests I developed at the age of 8, when I bought a science kit and accidentally set fire to a Frenchman in a church.

I grew up in Surrey but some of my family are from Hampshire and I have often felt that I lived between two worlds. I inhabited that invigorating space where cultures collide: visiting relatives in Portsmouth, I would have to grapple with an entirely new culture with its own customs.

From an early age I was drawn to the dramatic arts. I first trod the boards as King Herod in primary school. While preparing for the role I familiarised myself with the Qumran scrolls and the histories of Titus Josephus — my hope was to challenge the view of Herod as child slaughterer, portraying him instead as an early demographic strategist. Many people thought my performance deeply unsettling.

People management and responsibility for others were two qualities that I developed. Being the eldest of four, I often found myself acting in a managerial capacity, whether they liked it or not.

In the past two weeks I have developed an enormous number of new interests, including French poetry in the interwar years, pottery, the early cinema of Masaki Kobayashi, Anglo-Saxon currencies and religious iconography from the 14th century. By the time you read this statement it will be true to say that I have helped the elderly, and I would like to say what an enriching experience it was. That is assuming that you read this at all.

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