Harvey studied A Levels in Geology, Maths and Physics at York College from 2020 to 2022. He achieved BCC grades in his A Levels, which meant he couldn’t go to his first choice of university. Instead, he went through Clearing and eventually did a Geology course at Keele, then went on to do a Masters, graduating with First Class Honours in 2025.

Following this, Harvey went on to an MPhil course at Keele, researching at the first rocks that had been drilled from the mantle. He is due to complete this in September 2026, at which point he will move to studying a PhD at the University of St Andrews, and is due to work in Australia collecting rock samples for three months. Harvey applied for several PhD positions, and even turned down an opportunity to work at the University of Cambridge!

Harvey’s story is a great example of how things might not work out how you originally planned, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go on to achieve great things. In early 2026, he returned to Campus to talk to the Geography and Geology first-year classes about Earth Science as a university subject, during which he told his inspirational journey to the students. Harvey said of his time at York College: “York's College’s geology programme was so inspiring to me, and was what made me want to come back and do this subject, so I’m extremely grateful for that.”