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Oxford hits the road to show local students how to survive and thrive at the admissions interview

13 September 2012

Oxford University will be in the North East next week, working with local schools and colleges to help demystify the interview process for more than 200 students interested in applying to Oxford. The sessions are aimed at getting more local students into Oxford.

For the first time, Oxford’s St Anne’s College will be running a series of interview workshops for students in Year 13 who are applying to Oxford. The sessions are part of the college’s outreach work in the area, where it has links with schools in Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, Tyneside and Northumberland.

Running in seven locations across the region next week, the events will bring together over 200 Year 13 students from around 30 schools and colleges in the area. Run by tutors and students from St Anne’s, the workshops are designed to break down the myths surrounding Oxford interviews, as well as giving students the chance to approach new material similar to what they might be faced with at interview.

The events are being led by Dr Eleanor Parker, Lecturer in Italian and Schools Liaison Officer at St Anne’s, who attended a state school in Durham before making the move to Oxford as a student in Modern Languages. She says: ‘As a local girl, I am aware of the perceptions of the university in the North East where good students are often put off applying as they feel they might not “fit in.” Oxford is genuinely committed to attracting the very best students, irrespective of background, and we are keen to ensure that students from around the country and those who advise them have all that they need to approach the admissions process with confidence. We hope these workshops will help to reinforce the message that students from the North East with the ability and potential to succeed at Oxford should be encouraged to consider the university as a real option.’

Tim Gardam, Principal of St Anne’s College, says: ‘St Anne’s College defines itself by the opportunities it offers young people of talent and determination to transform their lives. Our students from the North East are amongst the best we have and I have no doubt there are many more potential students we fail to persuade to apply. This initiative will, I hope,  prove to them that they can make it to Oxford and will have a richly rewarding time as students here.’

A number of current and former Oxford students who went to school locally will be helping out at the events. One of them is Helen Robb, former JCR President at St Anne’s, undergraduate in PPE and former student of Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington. She says: ‘I'm really excited to be involved in the interview workshops in the North East. When I was applying to Oxford, I was really nervous about heading down to interviews on my own and trying to impress the tutors; I had no idea what it was going to be like and it felt a long way from home. Getting a chance to see how interviews work, and meet some people from the area who've been through the process really made a difference to my confidence. Hopefully these events will do the same for applicants this year.’

John Hill, Head of Sixth Form at Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham, which is hosting one of the workshops, says: ‘If you ask our Oxbridge applicants which part of the application process concerns them the most, almost invariably they will reply, "The interview!" I am really pleased, therefore, that St Anne's College, Oxford are offering Oxbridge applicants from local Tynedale state schools an interview workshop.  I am absolutely certain that the students will find the workshop invaluable and I hope it will give them that extra level of confidence which may lead them to receiving an offer.’

For more information please contact Julia Paolitto in the Press Office at Oxford University at 01865 280528 or press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk
For information on the activities and outreach events run by St Anne’s College Oxford, please contact Dr Eleanor Parker on schools.liaison@st-annes.ox.ac.uk

Notes for Editors:

  • St Anne’s College Oxford will be running a series of interview skills workshops on September 17 to 21. They will take place in Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, Tynemouth, Hexham and Morpeth and will cover interested schools in the area.
  • 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 interview workshop days are targeted at schools in the local authorities linked to St Anne’s College. They are: Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, North & South Tyneside and Northumberland, as well as two areas in London (Hillingdon & Southwark).
  • 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
  • In 2009-10, 75 students from Newcastle got three A grades or better at A level (around 7% of all those in Newcastle taking A levels). That year 48 students from Newcastle applied to Oxford. Across the whole North East, 769 students got AAA or better in 2009-10, and 265 applied to Oxford.(*NB AAA at A level was the minimum required to make a competitive application to Oxford
  • Oxford University’s central admissions and student recruitment teams also run a series of regional events targeting students and teachers in the North East throughout the year, including a Student Conference in March and a Regional Teachers Conference in June.
  • For more advice and guidance on Oxford interviews see www.admissions.ox.ac.uk/interviews.