Regional Teachers’ Conferences

In April members of the University’s Student Recruitment team began detailed planning for a series of UK wide regional teachers’ conferences as part of a new initiative which acknowledges the crucial role teachers and careers advisers play in encouraging and assisting young people to go on to higher education. 

Speaking at one of the first Regional Teachers’ Conferences in June, Student Recruitment Officer Peter Williams explained: ‘It’s a one-off when we engage with students; when we engage with teachers, we hope it will have a long-term benefit for you and for us. We recognise your importance in offering advice and support to students.’

Events for teachers have previously been held in Oxford by the University and by some colleges and departments. But it can be hard for teachers to find the time to travel, so the Student Recruitment team has been on the road, visiting seven locations in areas that are under-represented in current undergraduate admissions. ‘We chose some of the places where we thought there was the most untapped potential’, said Peter Williams. These included Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the north-east, north-west, south-west and East Anglia. Letters of invitation were sent to more than 2,000, mainly maintained, schools and colleges. Of the 218 teachers who attended, three-quarters came from the state sector.

Enlisting the help of Oxford academics and a group of enthusiastic students, the programme offered sound, detailed advice on ‘technical’ matters relating to admissions. This included significant deadlines, recent changes in the use of contextual information (such as schools’ overall exam performance), short-listing, and subject-specific testing. Student finance was also covered. Equally important was more general discussion about the kind of education Oxford offers and the sorts of student who get the most out of it. Topics included the focus on independent study and tutorials rather than coursework, and the fact that Oxford courses are academic and theoretical rather than vocational.

Teachers found out how they could best support Oxford applicants by encouraging them to develop their interest in their subject beyond the A-level, Advanced Higher or International Baccalaureate curricula, and by broadening their intellectual horizons by following current affairs. Ideas included setting up a book club, or suggesting that pupils listen to Radio 4 discussion programmes.

Sometimes a small piece of information can make a big difference to a candidate’s self-confidence and ability to do him- or herself justice. A good example is knowing that passages for discussion that are provided in tests and before interview in subjects such as English and History are often deliberately obscure, in the interests of fairness. An applicant who knows this is not likely to fall at the first hurdle, assuming that they needed prior exposure to ancient Icelandic literature when what they actually require is a well-developed literary or historical sensibility – aptitude, rather than knowledge.

The programme provided opportunities to investigate entrance statistics. For example, many students want to know which college gives them the ‘best chance’ of gaining an offer. In fact, colleges share information on candidates, evening out variations in numbers to ensure that the strongest applicants receive offers, even if not from their original college choice. Thus students can afford to choose without number-crunching, focusing instead on the environment in which they wish to live and study.

Teachers’ participation was encouraged by interactive exercises, which included looking at examples of personal statements and trying to work out whether the student in question had been accepted, and trying out online tests which help students to develop their reasoning abilities. Participants shared tips with each other; for example, some schools and colleges have swapped teachers to give mock interviews to each other’s candidates, offering a good opportunity to practise talking to someone unfamiliar about their subject.

Some questions reflected common misconceptions about Oxford. Many teachers were surprised to find that the majority of UK undergraduates come from state schools; others had not realised that Oxford’s maximum formal entry requirement is three As at A-level and does not include a specific number of A or A* grades at GCSE.

Several brave undergraduates re-lived their Oxford interview experience in front of an audience. Peter Williams said: ‘Seeing these mock interviews helped a lot of teachers. They weren’t what they thought they would be. They were surprised at how subject-focused they were, and struck by how the tutors were always trying to get the students to think for themselves, conducting the interview in such a way that coaching would not have helped.’

Feedback from the events was overwhelmingly positive. Teachers appreciated the fact that Oxford had visited their local area. They also liked the format, quality and quantity of information, the approachability of the presenters and the student involvement.

One teacher from the north-west wrote: ‘Very interesting to get the “real” information rather than rumour/speculation about Oxford entry.’ A participant from Northern Ireland said: ‘I now fully intend to encourage some of our students to apply’, and expressed an intention to come to open days, highlighting another function of the day: publicising other admissions-related activities for both teachers and students. These include regional and Oxford-based open days, teachers’ study weeks, Sutton Trust subject-based summer schools, as well as the interview-demystifying podcasts on the University website.

In 2009 the Student Recruitment Team will be running seven Regional Teachers' Conferences in June and July, targeting those areas in the UK not covered by last year's programme.  The programme will then continue on an annual basis covering the whole of the UK on a rolling two-year cycle.