Top universities are looking for students who can engage with their favourite subjects beyond the classroom. Search for your subject below and check out a huge range of interesting websites, podcasts, blogs, videos and more. Be sure to comment and let others know what you think!

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NRICH

NRICH is a website full of mathematical enrichment activities for learners of all ages. If you’re keen to develop your...

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physNRICH

Part of the ‘Advanced STEM’ section of the NRICH website which provides “stimulating and relevant resources to explore the ways...

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chemNRICH

Part of the ‘Advanced STEM’ section of the NRICH website which provides “stimulating and relevant resources to explore the ways...

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bioNRICH

Part of the ‘Advanced STEM’ section of the NRICH website which provides “stimulating and relevant resources to explore the ways...

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engNRICH

Part of the ‘Advanced STEM’ section of the NRICH website which provides “stimulating and relevant resources to explore the ways...

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Cambridge Chemistry Challenge

The Cambridge Chemistry Challenge (C3L6) website features a series of online monthly challenges for keen Chemists to try from their...

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RSC Chemistry Olympiad

The UK Chemistry Olympiad is a national competition run by the Royal Society of Chemistry which aims to provide post-16...

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CamLangSci blog

CamLangSci is an incredibly interesting blog run by graduate students working at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics in...

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Corpus Christi College essay competitions

Every year, Corpus Christi College in Cambridge runs a series of essay competitions for Year 12 students. Participants get the...

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In Our Time on Radio 4

BBC Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time’ has become a hugely popular discussion programme, attracting over two million listeners who want...

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History today

History Today is a monthly magazine which brings together experts from across the world to write about historical topics from...

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What if? By xkcd

Describing itself as a series of “Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions”, the What-If articles by xkcd are a...

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BBC iWonder

BBC iWonder features a range of interactive online guides which organise videos, audio files, infographics, activities and written sumaries to...

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New Scientist

New Scientist seems to be the go-to magazine for any budding Scientist. First published in 1956 and published weekly, it...

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The Naked Scientists

Don’t fear the name! The Naked Scientists describe themselves as a group of researchers from Cambridge who write articles, create...

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British Biology Olympiad

The British Biology Olympiad is an annual competition for Year 12 students to go beyond the normal Biology syllabus and...

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Politics In Spires

Politics in Spires (see what they did there?) is a joint blog between researchers at Oxford and Cambridge who are...

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I Want To Study Engineering

iWantToStudyEngineering is a collection of over 200 problems for students interested in studying Engineering at university. Perfect preparation for any...

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Cambridge SMS

The Cambridge Streaming Media Service (SMS) is a huge online vault of recorded public lectures and other events which have...

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Science and Plants for Schools

The Science and Plants for Schools (SaPS) website contains a range of different teaching resources, animations and videos, news stories,...

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Y9/10 Biology Challenge

The Biology Challenge is an online competition for Year 9s and 10s (or equivalent) taken in school with the aim...

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Aeon Magazine

Aeon is an online magazine which features oodles of essays and video documentaries on issues in science and society. It...

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British Physics Olympiad

The British Physics Olympiad consists of five different competitions for Years 10 – 13 which aim to encourage the study of...

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Zooniverse

Take part in science and humanities research projects from the comfort of your own home! Search for planets around stars, classify...

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Peterhouse Essay Prizes

Peterhouse, one of the Colleges which makes up the University of Cambridge, organises essay competitions each year for students in...

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CRIAViews

CRIAViews is a blog which aims to engage audiences with articles on international affairs. Many of the authors are academics...

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Festival of Ideas

The Cambridge Festival of Ideas is an annual celebration of the arts, humanities and social sciences. Hundreds of talks, performances, films...

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Fitzwilliam Essay Competitions

Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge runs annual essay competitions, usually for those studying in the lower sixth, to reward gifted students...

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Parliament TV

Want an insight into how the British political system works? Parliament TV offers live and archived coverage of all public parliament...

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iTunes U

iTunes U is a dedicated section of Apple’s iTunes Store that houses an endless supply of educational audio and video files from...

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Cambridge on YouTube

YouTube is probably one of the easiest ways to explore your subject nowadays. The University of Cambridge’s account is great,...

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Coursera

MOOCs (or Massive Open Online Courses) have really taken off in popularity in recent years. Coursera partners with top universities...

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edX

EdX offers interactive online classes and MOOCs from lots of US and world universities. There are over 300 short courses...

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FutureLearn

What would you like to learn? Whether it’s ecosystems, health, business, stem cells, climate change, programming, religion or quantum physics,...

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National Geographic

The go-to magazine for any budding geography student, National Geographic has been publishing amazing articles and photographs relating to geography,...

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Public law for everyone

A great blog on public law written by Dr Mark Elliott from the Faculty of Law at Cambridge. Lots of...

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Scientia Salon

A beautiful blend of science and philosophy! Read essays and book reviews or watch videos to learn about the links...

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MIT Technology Review

The mission of the MIT Technology Review is to “equip its audiences with the intelligence to understand a world shaped...

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MDG Visualisation

A great interactive visualisation from the NHME on how different countries are progressing towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). If...

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Isaac Physics

Isaac offers a series of online problem-solving activities for students transitioning from GCSEs up to those heading off to university....

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Geographical

Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society. Lots of interesting features on places, people and nature, as...

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Day of Archaeology

Keen to find out what Archaeology is all about? The Day of Archaeology project brings together those studying or working...

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Geological Society resources

The Geological Society’s website has a bunch of great resources (factsheets, videos, podcasts, interactive pages, and lesson plans for teachers...

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National Schools Geology Challenge

Do you have any talented Year 12/13 students studying science, geology or geography? The National Schools Geology Challenge rewards groups of...

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Tomorrow’s Engineers

Engineers don’t just build bridges. They’re involved in a huge number of industries, including travel, food, computing, media, health, sports,...

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Hay Levels

The Hay Levels are a series of five minute videos from some of the world’s leading academics and teachers which...

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Hay Festival talks from Cambridge

The Hay Festival is a celebration of literature and the arts, and Cambridge often brings along its own academic to...

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HE+

The HE+ project website from Cambridge contains resources such as extra reading material, links to external websites, exercises to try...

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Royal Society lectures

The Royal Society is a collection of the world’s top scientists who host a range of public lectures, many of...

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Marianne Talbot Philosophy

Marianne Talbot is a Philosopher at the University of Oxford who runs a fantastic blog and series of podcasts for...

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Young Geographer of the Year

The Royal Geographical Society and Geographical Magazine organise an annual competition for keen geographers aged 9-18. There’s also an essay competition...

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London Mathematical Society talks

The London Mathematical Society holds a series of talks on exciting topics in mathematics each year for those with an...

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Gresham College lectures

Gresham College, founded in 1597, exists to disseminate knowledge by providing free public lectures. You can view past lectures on their...

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The Conversation

What happens when academics and journalists work together to produce a news website? No matter your interests, be in in...

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CRASSH blog

CRASSH is the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, based in Cambridge. Their blog invites contributors...

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The Cambridge Literature Timeline

Being able to situate authors and texts within their historical and literary contexts is important for any literature students. This...

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Bill Bryson Prize

If you’re good at explaining complex scientific topics to your friends, family or pets, then why not enter the Royal Society...

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Corpus Christi Science Prize

One of our friends in Oxford – Corpus Christi College – runs an annual competition for students keen on exploring...

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Khan Academy

You can learn anything! Founded in 2006, Khan Academy delivers hundreds of micro-lectures on topics ranging from algebra to Buddhist...

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James Dyson Foundation

The James Dyson Foundation is all about showcasing what Engineering has to offer for students keen on STEM subjects. Try...

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Viva Voce podcasts

Interested in hearing about current research in the humanities and social sciences? Viva Voce asks current and former PhD students...

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Social Science Bites

Their own website explains it best: “hear leading social scientists present their perspectives on how our social world is created,...

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Philosophy Bites

If you’re looking for some easy-to-understand bitesize introductions to key topics in Philosophy (and let’s face it, who isn’t?), then...

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PopAnth

PopAnth looks to take the work of anthropologists around the world, who research and explore current and historic human societies,...

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PhDCasts

‘So… what is it that you actually do?’ PhDCasts takes current Cambridge PhD students in the Arts, Humanities and Social...

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The Scientific 23

If you’re interested to learn about the real lives of current scientists, what they enjoyed (and struggled with!) at school,...

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Law in Focus

Interested in the legal issues surrounding current affairs? Hear Cambridge academics discuss the law behind topical debates such as EU immigration,...

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History of Parliament

The History of Parliament website allows students to explore by period and theme the history of British politics. There’s a fantastic schools...

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Ri Channel

You might know about the Royal Institution from its really popular Christmas lectures shown on the TV every year, but...

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Yale Open Courses

Yale is one of the USA’s top universities, and they have a great selection of lectures and materials from their...

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Discover Anthropology

What is anthropology? It’s not a subject which many will have studied at school or college, but it’s an incredibly...

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Royal Anthropological Institute on YouTube

Keen to explore what Anthropology and Archaeology are all about? You can’t do much better than watching these videos from...

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Current Archaeology

Magazines are a great tool for keeping up to date with recent research and findings in the subjects you’re interested...

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Thinking Allowed

Thinking Allowed is a BBC Radio 4 programme presented by former Professor of Sociology Laurie Taylor, looking for half an...

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Battle of Ideas

The Battle of Ideas is a two-day annual festival which encourages free-thinking and open-ended discussion about a number of current...

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Science Friday

Described as “your trusted source for news and entertaining stories about science”, Science Friday hosts a range of weekly podcasts,...

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Codecademy

Most courses in Computer Science at university don’t expect students to have lots of background knowledge in programming (strong mathematical...

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Law in Action

Running since 1984, Law in Action is a BBC Radio 4 programme which discusses legal issues which arise from topical...

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Big Picture

Big Picture is an online magazine with loads of fantastic articles, activities, images, games, videos and more, all aimed at...

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Bang! Science Magazine

Bang! is a “graphically gorgeous science magazine” produced by students at Oxford. It aims to bring topical scientific research from the confines...

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History Virtual Classroom

The Faculty of History at Cambridge has an amazing virtual classroom where students can browse sample exercises and lectures which...

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Newnham Essay Prizes

Newnham College’s essay prizes are open exclusively to girls studying in Year 12/Lower Sixth and feature a £500 prize for...

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Numberphile

Videos about numbers! Supported by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Numberphile is a big collection of interesting and entertaining videos about...

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Periodic Videos

What happens when a video journalist and two working Chemists join forces? Periodic Videos is the answer! There are videos about each...

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Sixty Symbols

Their YouTube account ‘About’ section says “cool videos about Physics and Astronomy”. ‘Nuff said really! Videos for 60 (okay, a...

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Project Euler

Project Euler presents a series of mathematical and computer programming problems that will be a real challenge for any keen puzzle solvers...

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Nautilus Magazine

Each issue of Nautilus is arranged under a one word theme, connecting articles from all types of discipline together. From...

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Res Gerendae

Graduate students at the Cambridge University Classics Faculty have collaborated to create Res Gerendae, a blog that forges links between...

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Into Biology

Into Biology is a brand new website funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and based at the University of Cambridge. Aimed...

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The Poetry Foundation

The Poetry Foundation is a brilliant site that allows you to engage with poetic texts and commentary. With a huge...

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The Greeks, the Romans, and Us

Have you considered Classics? The Cambridge Classics Faculty have launched a new website designed to provide insight into what current...

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HE+

The HE+ website hosts subject resources written by Cambridge academics and is designed for self-study. This is an absolutely brilliant resource...

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Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians

The British Library has put together a number of resources that will help you discover Romantic and Victorian literature, including...

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Underground Mathematics

Underground Mathematics is a new project launched by the Cambridge University Mathematics Faculty in collaboration with the Department of Education....

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STEP Support Programme

STEP Support Programme – free online resources for university mathematics applicants STEP is an additional mathematics examination, taken at the...

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Advancing Access

Advancing Access is a new website that provides teachers with CPD resources and information about UK HE events that will help...

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The Many Headed Monster Blog

A history of ‘the unruly sorts of clowns’, this collections of essays are reading by leading early modern history academics,...

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Crash Course

Crash Course provides 10 minute YouTube video series on a huge range of topics, building up from an introductory level...

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SciShow

Sci show is a range of short videos aimed to make your curiosity contagious. Updated weekly, it has a huge...

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Houses of History

Explore the story of Parliament through one thousand years of British history- Houses of History explores 50 key British historical...

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Age of Revolutions Blog

The word “revolution” is a human tool. At any point in time, its meaning has shifted to accommodate those wielding it. The...

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Pint of Science

Pint of Science is an annual science festival that takes place in pubs over three evenings in May; across the...

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The History Chicks

History chicks is a podcast aiming to introduce you to female characters in history, factual or fictional, many of whom...

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Talking Politics

Corbyn! Trump! Brexit! Politics has never been more unpredictable, more alarming or more interesting. TALKING POLITICS is the podcast that...

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Royal History Society Video Archive

Find lectures from leading academics regarding the cutting edge of historical research, presented by the Royal Historical Society    ...

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Royal Geography Society Podcasts

The Royal Geography Society podcasts tackles issues in both human and physical geography, on topics including gentrification, chinses cities, urban...

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Conspiracy and Democracy Project

Theories and beliefs about conspiracies are an enduring feature of modern societies. This is partly a reflection of the fact...

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DuoLingo

Duolingo is the world’s most popular way to learn a language. It’s 100% free, fun and science-based. Great for revising languages...

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TED-Ed

What happens during a stroke? How did teeth evolve? Why should you read Virginia Woolf? Ted-Ed is a series of...

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In The Long Run

In The Long Run is the blog of the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Cambridge....

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Words for Time Travellers

Travel back in time and explore the changing nature of the English Language. From Beowulf and the Anglo Saxons, through...

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Presidential Podcast

The Washington Post’s Presidential podcast explores how each former American president reached office, made decisions, handled crises and redefined the...

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