Media

Local students take the Oxford University challenge

31 May 2012

State school pupils from Walsall will be exploring Oxford this week as part of an outreach push to get more state schools from the area to send students to the university.

As part of the day’s event the students and their teachers will take part in a special activity at Oxford’s Botanic Garden – the oldest botanic garden in Britain. And while students spend the day learning about Oxford from current undergraduates at Oriel and St Hilda’s Colleges, teachers will have access to Oxford admissions tutors to ask questions and get advice about preparing their pupils for the Oxford application process.

The ‘Exploring Oxford’ day is the last in a series of ten events run from January to June of this year. Nearly 300 students from 30 state schools including those in Dudley, Wolverhampton and Walsall have attended the events, all of which feature Oxford undergraduate ‘student ambassadors’ offering advice and an inside look at college life at Oxford.

The special day of activities is targeted at high-achieving students from state schools who have the potential to succeed at Oxford and includes sessions on choosing subjects, writing personal statements, and learning about life as a student at Oxford – including lunch in college hall.

Ian Forrest, Tutor for Admissions at Oriel College, said: ‘We really want more students from our outreach regions to apply to Oxford, and we hope that by seeing the university and meeting students first-hand, pupils will be encouraged to give it a go. For example, the latest figures show that in 2010, 87 students from Walsall got 3 A grades or better at A level, but only 24 applied to Oxford that year. We want to see that number go up, and hope the Exploring Oxford days will give bright students and their teachers the encouragement they need.’

Lucia Nixon, Tutor for Admissions at St Hilda’s College, said: ‘We really want more high-achieving state school students to apply to Oxford, so our goal is for the Exploring Oxford days to give bright students – and their teachers – the encouragement they need. We hope that by visiting Oxford and meeting and talking to current undergraduates, students will be encouraged to give it a go. Plus I really enjoy learning from the teachers about how we can do more to encourage their students.’

The schools attending on Friday 1 June include Shire Oak Academy and Barr Beacon School in Walsall.

Student Ambassador Adam Bozson is a first year student at Oriel College studying Physics. He said: ‘Being a student ambassador is a fun and rewarding experience. We want to show prospective students what Oxford is really like, and bust lots of myths on the way! I became a student ambassador because I believe applicants should have more information about the application process and what it's actually like to live and learn in Oxford. Exploring Oxford days are a fantastic taster of the University and colleges, as well as a great opportunity to meet current students.’

Student Ambassador Eve Kells is a first year student at St Hilda’s College studying French and Spanish. She said: ‘For me, being a student ambassador is about letting people see beyond the 'institutional' image of universities like Oxford, which is so often projected by the media or by people who have never studied here. Many people that I have met on the Exploring Oxford Days seem to arrive with negative expectations but are then pleasantly surprised by what they find.’

For more information and photos of the Oxford Botanic Garden session, please contact Julia Paolitto in the Press Office, Oxford University on 01865 280 531 or press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

For more information about Oriel and St Hilda’s Colleges’ Outreach Programme, please contact Francesca Slattery, Outreach Officer on 07825174903 or outreach@oriel.ox.ac.uk

Notes for Editors:

Oriel and St Hilda’s Colleges are for the first time running a joint series of ‘Exploring Oxford’ days, held from January to June 2012. The events are available to pupils in Years 10, 11 and 12, from all non-selective state schools in the colleges’ outreach regions, with a limit of 10 pupils per school. They are aimed at those pupils who have or are predicted to achieve at least 5 A/A* grades at GCSE, and have an interest in going to university.

‘Exploring Oxford’ days 2012 is the first time these events have been run collaboratively across the two colleges.

As part of the University of Oxford’s on-going commitment to engage with schools, each Oxford college is linked to a Local Authority to ensure that each school has a first point of contact within the University. The ‘Exploring Oxford’ days are targeted at schools in the local authorities linked to Oriel and St Hilda’s colleges. For Oriel the areas are: Dudley, Kensington & Chelsea, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire; and for St Hilda’s the local authority is Surrey. For more information on the regional contacts between local authorities and colleges see:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate_courses/events_and_outreach/information_for_teachers_and_advisors/contacts/school_and_college_1.html

The event features a full day of activities, including: A welcome from the Oriel or St Hilda’s Tutor for Admissions, sessions for students on ‘Planning your future,’ choosing courses, and making a good UCAS application, and discussions with teachers. Students also attend a question-and-answer panel with ‘student ambassadors’ from Oriel and St Hilda’s colleges, and attend a walking tour of a college and lunch in college.

The day features an interactive activity in Oxford’s Botanic Garden. This involves a group challenge to investigate the plants at the gardens and to select which ones they would take with them to re-populate a new planet, and give their reasons why.

For more on the Botanic Garden, see: http://www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk/
All events have Student Ambassador volunteers from both colleges running activities. Oriel and St Hilda's both now have an official Student Ambassador volunteering programme where students who are passionate about widening access to Oxford university and keen to promote their college get involved in outreach events with schools.