Oxford hits the road for Sheffield roadshow events

13 July 2012

Oxford University has been hitting the road in a bid to recruit more state school applicants from the Sheffield area. This week, students have had the chance to experience a mock ‘Oxbridge interview’ as part of the university’s efforts to dispel Oxford myths and stereotypes and recruit more state school students.

Over a busy four days ending July 13, members of University College, Oxford, have been  travelling across South Yorkshire  to give workshops to Oxford hopefuls. These included workshops on personal statements and a chance to prepare for and practice the Oxford interview. There are also academic enrichment activities including some fun philosophy exercises.

The roadshow events have seen nine students from University College and several college outreach staff visit 10 schools across south Yorkshire, including Sheffield, Barnsley, and Penistone. Around 150 local pupils participated in the events, all from state schools in the area.

This is the fourth year the college has been running the roadshow events. Access and Schools Liaison Officer for University College Anne-Marie Canning has organised the events. She says: ‘We've been visiting Sheffield every summer for four years now. I love this project because it means we meet students in their own schools and communities and deliver workshops that really help applicants to get to grips with the Oxford interview process, including looking at past interview questions and have a go at answering them together, in the classroom.'

‘We really want more students from South Yorkshire to see past the stereotypes and apply to Oxford. The latest figures show that in 2010, for example, nearly 200 students from Sheffield got 3 A grades or better at A level, and less than 70 applied to Oxford that year. We want to see that number go up, and hope these events will help teachers encourage and support as many bright students from Sheffield and South Yorkshire applying to Oxford as possible.’

Jack Haynes is a current fourth-year student at University College who is taking part in the events. He says: ‘I have been involved as a student ambassador in three of the four Roadshows and they are always one of the highlights of my summer. It provides us with the opportunity to talk to the students of Sheffield sharing our own experiences of applying, making the change from school to uni, and also the experience of living and studying at Oxford. It's so rewarding, too, when teachers let us know that their students found the visits useful and that some then go on to make a successful application to Oxford.'

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