Oxford for East England

What is Oxford for East England?

Oxford for East England brings together three Oxford colleges with established links in the region: Balliol, Hertford and Wadham. Together, we work with pupils, teachers and families to provide bespoke support where it’s needed - from helping raise attainment to offering professional advice about applying to university - as well as innovative online resources.

University of Oxford colleges have been working with schools across the East of England for many years; in the last 5 years, students and schools from the region have participated in over 1,200 Oxford outreach activities.

The local authorities supported by Oxford for East England are:

• Bedford
• Cambridgeshire
• Central Bedfordshire
• Essex
• Hertfordshire
• Luton
• Norfolk
• Peterborough
• Southend-on-Sea
• Suffolk
• Thurrock

Aims

We aim to widen access to Oxford for underrepresented groups of students and to encourage and enable more students from the East of England to make successful applications to the University of Oxford, and other top UK universities. Through Oxford for East England, we aim to:

• Help students in the East of England enjoy their learning, to think big and become independent learners
• Inspire students of all ages and from all backgrounds to have the confidence to be themselves and to be ambitious about their futures
• Improve the educational opportunities of all students
• Encourage more students from the East of England to aim for top universities and to achieve their goals
• Increase the number of students at Oxford from currently under-represented groups
• Ensure Oxford University is a realistic goal for anyone with academic talent and commitment.

For more details on the research underpinning these targets, please read the University of Oxford's Access and Participation Plan.

Around 10% of UK students at Oxford come from the East of England – that’s about 800 students a year. Overall, this is broadly what we’d expect given the region’s share of students with A Level grades which match our selection criteria. Oxford for East of England therefore prioritises outreach work with schools with lower rates of progression to Higher Education. We also prioritise engagement with students living in economically disadvantaged areas, on free school meals or experiencing other forms of educational disadvantage.

Please note that if you or your school do not fall into our access categories, there is still plenty of advice and support available for you here and on the University website. All schools, sixth form and further education colleges have a point of contact within University of Oxford who will be happy to provide information and advice on admissions and outreach.

Impact

We do not expect to make radical changes overnight, but hope to build lasting partnerships with schools across the region that will deliver benefits for their whole school community as well as for the University. We will evaluate the impact of our outreach across the East of England.

Read more about outreach at Oxford.

The three colleges which make up Oxford for East England collaborate in planning and evaluation to ensure a consistent approach across the whole region. To make communication timely and manageable, they each have a direct responsibility for a number of Local Authorities within the region – if you’re a student or teacher from the East of England, you should get in touch with your ‘linked’ college below in the first instance.  

Bedford, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Luton

• You are linked with Wadham College. Please email Hugh and Catherine at [email protected]

Essex, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock

• You are linked with Hertford College. Please email Nathan and Kathryn at [email protected]

Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk

• You are linked with Balliol College. Please email Pravahi and Jack at [email protected]