Bright spark runs in the family as Strathallan engineer receives Oxford offer

The Sixth Form student from Serbia could join his older brother Mateja at Oxford, as the former Strathallan student and HMC Scholar also got into the prestigious university, heading to Jesus College to study Physics in 2019.

Vanja joined Strathallan three years ago on a full HMC Scholarship and is studying Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science at A-Level.

The 18-year-old said he still couldn’t believe he has been offered a place at Oxford.

“It feels unreal,” said Vanja. “I had to keep reading the offer to make sure I didn’t imagine it. Now I just must keep focused and get the grades I need.”

“I’ve loved my time at Strathallan, I’ve felt very supported and coming to Scotland has given me the opportunity to take part in activities like the Duke of Edinburgh award that I wouldn’t have been able to do in Serbia.”

Vanja is passionate about maths, robotics and astrophysics, recently crafting a radio telescope at school. During his time at Strathallan he has won Gold in the UKMT Senior Mathematical Challenge 2021, British Physics Olympiad Senior Physics Challenge 2021 and the Scottish Maths Challenge.

Headmaster, Mark Lauder said, “I am delighted for Vanja after all his hard work and dedication to his studies and I look forward to Vanja joining his brother at Oxford, Mateja who was Strathallan’s Dux in 2019.”

Discover where Strathallan could take you at our next Open Morning.