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Oxford Demystified - Schemes for State School Students

OXFORD DEMYSTIFIED – BY OXFORD MUM

CAVEAT: READING THIS BOOK DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU A PLACE AT OXFORD

THESE IDEAS ARE MY OWN AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

PLEASE CHECK YOUR FACTS BEFORE APPLYING

Chapter 4 - Schemes for State School Students

“Elite good, elitist bad”

(Alan Rusbridger, Principal of Lady Margaret Hall)

(edited 5 years ago)

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Reply 1

Oxford Mum

All the advice I’ve given so far seems great for the confident go-getter. But what if you live on a council estate, or your parents have lost their jobs? What is the point of dreaming about the dreaming spires then?

Maybe you feel Oxford is irrelevant to you. The people at Oxford University are posh, and don’t care what you’re going through, right?

Happily this could not be further than the truth. Whilst researching for this book, I have discovered many access initiatives I didn’t even know existed.

My Oxford experience has been as a single parent, who earns under £20,000.00 per year. Due to generous bursaries from Oxford, my sons were able to study without worrying about finances.

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/fees-and-funding/oxford-support?wssl=1

Oxford will give you extra help if you are from a disadvantaged background

Here is how Oriel college defines “disadvantaged”

Studying at a non-selective (comprehensive) state school
Studying at a school with limited history of progression to Oxbridge
Home postcode in ACORN category 4 or 5
Receipt of free school meals/pupil premium
(Oriel website, study days article)

Moira Wallace, the former Provost of Oriel College, has compiled a review of Oxford’s targets for students from low income or under-represented backgrounds. According to Alan Rusbridger, principal of Lady Margaret Hall, she is frustrated that “so many people from these backgrounds simply don’t apply, even though they had perfectly good enough grades”. The report has now been published and the results highlight a need to use contextual data more when considering an application.

Rusbridger, in his blog “Hell Passage” is pleased with this development.

“Candidates who come from a deprived postcode and from a school with a lower than average attainment should, subject to grades, be shortlisted. This should at least secure them an interview”.

Louise Richardson, the Oxford Vice Chancellor (who presented A…with his degree) concurs. She says she wants a “diverse Oxford”.

Reply 2

Oxford Mum

Oxford is working hard to improve access:

https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/about-lmh/principal/hells-passage-principals-blog/elite-good-elitist-bad

and the result is improved prospects for disadvantaged groups:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-48541423

https://cherwell.org/2019/05/21/one-in-four-oxford-students-set-to-be-from-most-disadvantaged-backgrounds-by-2023/

Oxford has recently unveiled two new schemes to help level the playing field a little; the Oxford Opportunity Scheme (200 places for students from under represented groups who will obtain the grades required for Oxford but who need assistance to bring them from secondary school to Oxford standards) and the Foundation Oxford Scheme (50 places for students with potential, but who, because they have faced barriers to their education, have not obtained the grades usually required by Oxford)

Here is a link, telling us more about Opportunity Oxford

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/increasing-access/opportunity-oxford

It looks, from the link, as if this is not a scheme that you apply for, but when you apply to Oxford, Oxford will decide if you are eligible to join the scheme:

All you have to do is apply to Oxford through UCAS in the normal way. If you are eligible, you will automatically be considered for a place on Opportunity Oxford. You will know if you are successful in receiving an offer from Oxford and a place on Opportunity Oxford in January, and at the same time as all our offers for undergraduate study are made every year.

The TES is pleased with these new initiatives:

https://www.tes.com/news/oxford-schemes-disadvantaged-are-big-step-right-direction

But Alan Rusbridger still thinks there is more work to do:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/21/oxford-university-diverse-widen-access-diversity-inclusion

Are you a state school student, who fancies shadowing an undergraduate studying your favourite subject, for a day?

Look at this link to Target Schools

https://www.oxfordsu.org/activities/target-schools/

200 school students will be selected to visit departmental buildings, to listen to lectures and even tutorials, for a day. Obviously, with the pandemic, physical visits to Oxford will not be possible, but Target Schools want to continue this online.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 3

Oxford Mum

If you are state schooled, and part of an under represented group, there has never been a better time to apply to Oxford. But where do you start?

A good place would be the Sutton Trust.

Here are the contact details:

[email protected]

The Sutton Trust, 9th floor, Millibank Tower, 21-24 Millibank, London SW1P 4QP
Phone 020 7802 1660

The Sutton Trust is there to combat social inequality and will willingly provide you with support and encouragement with your university application. Ask your school to get in touch with them. If you qualify for help, you may be provided with a mentor to keep you on track, and let you know you’re not on your own. They will also offer pathways to the professions (like Medicine and Law) and access to the workplace.

https://www.suttontrust.com/

Top schools like Eton offer a summer school to state school students

https://www.etoncollege.com/SummerCourses.aspx

Westminster School and Brighton College have teamed with the Linacre Institute to help students from northern schools to reach Oxbridge

https://www.linacreinstitute.org/

Another scheme, for pupils from the north east of England, is Aim for Oxford:

https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Aim%20for%20Oxford%20brochure.pdf

This scheme is run by St Annes and Christchurch colleges:

https://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/first-year-of-aim-for-oxford-comes-to-a-successful-conclusion-despite-the-pandemic/

The scheme has 60 places, and is run by Oxford University. They run personal statement and application workshops and several subject taster sessions.

A free scheme I have a particular soft spot for is Zero Gravity. It was founded by Joe Seddon, who went from a single parent household in the North of England to a first in PPE from Oxford. With the world at his feet, he decided to turn his back on a lucrative career to help others in a similar position benefit from an Oxbridge education.

The principle behind the scheme is simple. If you have 7 x 8/9s or more at GCSE, and are from a state school with little or no progression to Oxford or Cambridge, you may be eligible. Here is Joe's vision:

https://www.zerogravity.co.uk/impact

Once you have applied online, and if you are eligible, you can get matched up with a current Oxbridge student reading your subject. For one hour a week, you will receive mentoring over your mobile. This will including help with your personal statement, guidance on the admissions test, mock interviews and a lot of other priceless guidance. All calls are recorded, and you never get to meet your mentor (you don't have to travel to meet them, so it's Covid-friendly). In addition to this help, you can talk about your specialist subject, and get inside information about what the course is really like. From the Trust Pilot reviews, it seems like both mentors and mentees are having fun, and the mentees are even teaching the mentors new things! Last year, Zero Gravity got 60 state school pupils into Oxbridge, but now this number has rocketed to 151. This is only the beginning, as word is just starting to spread.

Even schools can become a partner school! This is involves no cost, and very little effort on the part of the school. They just sign up and encourage bright pupils to join the scheme. Zero Gravity also provides mentoring for Russell Group universities, so I would imagine this would be beneficial to many schools.

Of course, not every mentee is going to achieve an offer. However, as one mentor says, it's not just about the offer. It's about opening the mentee's mind to a new way of thinking, how to study effectively yet make it fun and fulfilling,and even more important, passing on confidence and positivity.

A very similar scheme is the OMS or Oxbridge, or the Oxbridge Mentoring Scheme - information also available under Insight Outreach.

Your mentors will be Oxbridge students who have also gone through the applications process. This online programme will give you

mock interviews with feedback
Recommendations for subject reading
Advice on course and college choices
UCAS personal statement brainstorming and critical review
Preparation for entrance tests
Practice sessions in answering Oxbridge interview questions.

The sessions take place in evenings and at weekends, so they do not impact on your school day.

In 2019, 40% of OMS students secured offers from Oxford or Cambridge, so they are well worth a look!

https://insightoutreach.org/

Unipear is also a similar scheme to the above two, providing mentor advice to state school students:

http://unipear.co.uk/

Oxpath is unusual in that it provides one off help, but you can use it as many times as you like:

https://www.oxpath.co.uk/about

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 4

Oxford Mum

So what is available in Oxford for the disadvantaged student who qualifies for assistance?

Target Oxbridge

Is a free programme that encourages and prepares bright, black state school educated pupils for Oxbridge applications. In 2013, Kalm Paul-Christian won a place at St Hugh’s College, Oxford to read History. In that year, 50% of those on the programme were successful with their Oxbridge applications.

He was given a mentor, Raph Mokades, who was a current black Oxford student. He gave him encouragement, practical help with personal statement checking and interview practice. Kalm said,

“Having someone who had already walked that path and who could tell me how better to go down it was invaluable to me.”

The programme made him feel more confident. Not everyone around him believed he could get in, but Target Oxbridge “showed me that if I put my mind to it and do not regard what others had to say, then I can do what I wanted to do and I could achieve”. As Kalm says it’s about “learn(ing) to play the game”.

Elizabeth Oladunni made a successful Oxford application in 2017 via Target Oxbridge. Sixteen of the participants won places, which amounted to a success rate of 36%. Although this is lower than the 2013 statistics, it is still well above the national average of 20%. From 2018, the scheme expanded to 45 places for year 12 students and a separate three-day residential event at Oxford for 60 people.

Before she applied, Elizabeth thought “all Oxford students are Mensa geniuses who have gone to public school”, but “my mentors at Target Oxbridge were always there to dispel this myth.”

In addition to the help Kalm received, Elizabeth mentions guidance on how to approach aptitude tests, mock interviews, workshops and one-to-one sessions “that would challenge us intellectually and promote discussion. The topics you discuss are unseen and are largely based on random articles – and they could be about anything!”

At first she was unsure of whether to apply to Target Oxbridge, but listened to her mother’s excellent advice “Just try!” Now she says it was the best decision she ever made.

If you are a black student and wish to apply to this programme, you need to apply through Rare (https/www.rarerecruitment.co.uk) and complete their form. (quotes are from the Rare website)

https://targetoxbridge.co.uk/
https://targetoxbridge.co.uk/apply/
http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2018-02-16-success-and-expansion-target-oxbridge-programme-black-teenagers
https://www.rarerecruitment.co.uk/rrs2013/oxbridge.php

Hope Oloye, a black third year Biomedic at Pembroke, took an active role to encourage black students to apply (Cherwell, 1 November 2017). Oloye realises the sensitivity behind the problem:

“I know so many capable students that didn’t even consider Oxford because they felt like it was an institution solely for white students, which breaks my heart”.

She then went on to quote a statistic that breaks mine: one third of black offer holders do not take up their place at Oxford.

In response, she created a mentorship programme and essay prize scheme called the Afro-Caribbean Tyler Prize. Each entrant is given one-to-one support whilst writing their essay from a current or former Afro-Caribbean Oxford student. This competition is open to any Afro-Caribbean students across the capital. Her aim is as follows:

“Through the development of academic skills, the creation of culturally relevant contacts at Oxford and the demystification of the University, we hope to increase the submission of strong, confident applications made by Afro-Caribbean students.”

Entrants will also have the opportunity to tour Pembroke College (Oloye’s college) and take part in a Q&A session with present Afro-Caribbean students. Oloye wants everyone who attends “to become more familiar with Oxford and, perhaps more importantly, feel that Oxford is in fact a place for them.”

In response to its resounding success, Oloye wishes to expand the programme nationwide.

https://cherwell.org/2017/11/01/new-access-scheme-founded-for-bme-applicants/

Anoushka Mutanda Dougherty is mixed-race (Caucasian/Afro Caribbean) and has been offered a place at Cambridge University, but is unsure whether to accept (BBC News, 22 January 2019). She mentions several typical Oxbridge misconceptions.

She says “I worry about what life would be like in a university which still admits quite a high proportion of pupils from private schools”
(there are more state school pupils than private school pupils at Oxbridge – 64.5% at Oxford, 61% at Cambridge).

“There’s no escaping the fact that Cambridge is a majority white and majority posh institution”.

In reality, 1 in 4 Oxford students have parents on a low enough income to qualify for a bursary (source, Oxford University website), and I would imagine that Cambridge is broadly the same.

Anoushka has “the fear of being pushed to behave like someone from a specific socio-economic group, just to fit in”.

Vee Kativhu aka “Miss Varz” of Lady Margaret Hall (LMH), and her friend, Josh Tulloch would beg to disagree. They have both made several youtube videos of their time at Oxford and are gloriously, fabulously themselves throughout. Josh was LMH’s JCR (Junior Common Room) president (that means he was confident and popular enough to be the representative of his entire college). Miss Varz, meanwhile is a media star who has even appeared on the One Show. If you are in any doubt of their star quality, just watch “Josh and Vee’s make up challenge”. It’s a classic. Josh will never be a beautician (I hope) but I haven’t laughed so much in ages!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t5cccc1jjs

Make sure you look at Vee and Josh’s “Oxford ACS University College Tag video” (the ACS stands for Afro Caribbean Society). Vee and Josh give us a hilarious tour of LMH, with Vee performing an LMH song in the chapel (which I think she’s made up on the spot), and Josh busting some cool dance moves, showing us the secret garden that is “so secret everyone knows about it” and the library that Emma Watson herself has visited and recommended feminist books to. There is plenty of fun to be had as we go to bops and formal dinners with them. We can even see a formal for the Afro Caribbean Society at Magdalen College on the vlog.

So what is it really like for a black student coming up to Oxford?

Josh: Everyone is so lovely. Before coming I was terrified. I was scared it was gonna be the Oxford type of person. I was ready not to make any friends. I thought people couldn’t relate to me. In a day it was clear that just wasn’t true.
(You may study with many people from different backgrounds, which can help. Josh is reading PPE with students from Wales, France, Singapore, Swaziland, Thailand and Manchester).

Vee was also scared. She cried the day before arriving at Oxford. When she met Josh, she had no idea he was scared too!

Vee: I felt like I wouldn’t fit in. I thought everyone would talk the same language, in terms of going to the horse races, playing croquet… It’s really, really not like that. Everyone’s really chilled. It’s nice to have people from working class backgrounds, people from state school, people from private school.

Josh: Some of the most generous, most amazing people I’ve met have been private school. Once you’re here, there’s a level of mutual respect. You’ve been good enough to get into Oxford, so as long as you are nice you’ll make friends. Just be you. Everyone respects the fact that you’ve made it here.

Vee: Once you’re here it literally doesn’t matter how you’ve got here, or where you’ve come from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfll3Sh8GBA&list=PL-YIls1UVCDGPq7-7LcF80m1B08M7wbzJ&index=2

Vee sends all black and ethnic minority students a very important, serious message in her video “Is my uni diverse?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7825sbb907I

In Vee’s words;

“Oxford is not diverse. The tutors are not diverse. Oxford the town is not diverse. The lectures are filled with white faces.

Making Oxford and Cambridge diverse is not just the job of Oxford and Cambridge. It’s the job of our teachers, who should tell us we deserve to occupy a space at the University of Oxford and Cambridge, no matter what background we come from, no matter what race we are.

It’s the job of the media, who are constantly bashing Oxford. I thought I might not fit in because I’m not the correct race.

Most importantly, it is your job to make Oxbridge diverse. By you applying and coming, you have made a difference. If you have the grades, you have to come, you owe it to yourself. By coming you’re helping make this space more diverse.

Yes, Oxford is not diverse, but please do not be put off by that.

The more of us that apply, the more of us that come here, the more that Oxbridge will start to represent society and look the way it’s supposed to look.
Do not be put off simply because of your race.

Please, please apply. Oxford needs you”.

This is Vee’s dream. Help make it come true, and one day it will feel just as natural for a black student to apply to Oxford as it would be to Bristol.

Reply 5

Oxford Mum

UNIQ Summer Schools

https://www.uniq.ox.ac.uk/

https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2012/apr/19/oxford-summer-school-uniq

UNIQ summer schools are a great way to experience life at the university. Provided you have a decent sprinkling of GCSEs and you live in an area where there are few participants in tertiary education, you can spend several days for free in a grand Oxford college. Recently Oxford announced a 50% expansion of UNIQ summer school places. Since its inception in 2010, nearly 5,500 state school pupils have experienced UNIQ. More than 1,100 have subsequently been offered a place at Oxford. Participation in this scheme increases your chances of being accepted from 20% to 34.6%.
(University of Oxford website)

Applications are open over Christmas, and close at the end of January. The programme is only available to students in the first year of sixth form.
For a place on the arts courses (for example Geography) you will need 5 A*s (or grades 7,8,9) and for Economics and Medicine it’s 7. For German you will have a 1 in 5 chance of getting a place on the UNIQ programme. For Medicine it is a 1 in 14 chance.

The courses take place in April and July. There are taster lectures, delivered by actual Oxford tutors, in your chosen subject. The student helpers are state school pupils like you, so know how scary it feels to apply from such a background. They will also tell you how welcome and fulfilled they feel now, and how all that worry was for nothing. There are even handy hints on making an application to the university. By the time you have made new friends and been inspired by the tutors, you will be raring to go. Who knows, you may end up living in the very same college for the next three years.

Here are the views of past UNIQ students:

https://medium.com/oxford-university/uniq-voices-aa9e7a76b107

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-AxaP3mIf8

I didn’t realise this, but there is also a UNIQ+ programme for prospective Oxford postgraduates:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/uniqplus

Reply 6

Oxford Mum

Oxford Pathways

https://www.pathways.ox.ac.uk/

This initiative provides subject taster days, called “investigating medicine”, “investigating humanities” and “investigating social sciences”. This is for year 10 and 11 students from non-selective state schools with little history of student progression to Oxford. Like all the other courses, it is free.

Year 10 taster days consist of

A visit to an Oxford college,
Talk on higher education and student finance
Meeting other Oxford students
Lunch in Hall, plus academic activity

In year 11, the programmes become more specific, with subjects such as:

Investigating humanities
Investigating social sciences
Investigating medicine and allied subjects
Maths, physical and life sciences

The deadlines are different for different groups (for Year 10 taster days it is November, for Year 11 it is May). Check the dates carefully using the website information.

You need to apply via your school for these programmes.

Reply 7

Oxford Mum

Oriel Study Days

https://www.oriel.ox.ac.uk/study-visit-programme-2019

This is a series of five subject specific, one-night residentials for disadvantaged year 12 students from UK state schools. It includes a one night stay in their beautiful college, all meals and activities and (my favourite part) free off peak train travel to and from the college. There are 40 places on each course.

A typical programme will include

An introductory talk: introducing Oxford and Oriel
A subject focused lecture by an Oriel tutor
A seminar on applying to and studying the subject at Oxford
Mock interview
Seminars led by Oriel academics

The subjects on offer in April 2018 were PPE and related courses, and Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences.

You need to have the same predicted grades as the course itself, i.e. for PPE it’s AAA and A*AA for Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. You will also need to be studying for the A levels relevant to the courses.

Your teacher needs to write you a short reference and you need to complete a form (see Oriel website). For any questions, please contact India Collins-Davies at [email protected]

Reply 8

Oxford Mum

Each region of the UK has its own “link college”. To find yours, go to Oxford University Link Colleges.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/teachers/link-colleges

Click on your region and you will find the college that represents your area. For example for Nottinghamshire it’s Magdalen, and for Birmingham it’s Keble.

Contact your college and ask about outreach events for your state school. There may be a chance to visit or even attend taster days for individual subjects.

Look at this I found on the St John’s college website:

https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/study/working-schools/-inspire/

“The St John’s Inspire Programme is a series of events, visits, workshops and online contact for pupils in years 9 to 13 from non-selective state schools in our linked London Boroughs of Harrow and Ealing.

Participants will get the opportunity to:

Try taster sessions in a range of subjects with top academics
Meet current students to talk about what university is really like
Meet recent graduates to find out about the range of careers available after university
Spend time in Oxford to try out university life
Get reliable information about choosing subjects and applying to university
We will also be running parallel information sessions for parents/carers and teachers on issues such as supporting university applications and funding.
Reasons to get involved

It’s a chance for participants to:

Explore academic subjects they are enthusiastic about in a more structured and deeper way
Gain confidence in their academic abilities; talking about their subject and making applications to competitive universities
Meet people who share a passion for their subject
Receive up-to-date and accurate advice on all aspects of university admissions and funding
Gain the tools to make informed academic choices and submit strong applications to competitive courses and universities
Signing up to the St John’s Inspire programme

The programme is open to all non-selective state schools in our linked regions, the London Boroughs of Ealing and Harrow

All the events and resources are free to qualifying participants. We can also cover costs of travel for participants who would otherwise be unable to attend

All non-selective state schools in Ealing and Harrow will receive invitations to each of the events but you can also contact us directly to attend
Sign up to our mailing list to keep in contact online during year 11

To join the Year 12 Twilight sessions, there will be a very simple application process. In filtering applications, we will take into account academic attainment at GCSE or equivalent, a short personal statement and a teacher’s reference/comment.

Reply 9

Oxford Mum

Balliol’s Floreat Access Programme

https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/admissions/schools-and-outreach/floreat-access-programme

is well worth a look if you attend state school in Hertfordshire. Every year 25 students (now expanded to 40) are chosen from over ten schools to join a humanities programme. Balliol tutors actually go to a Hertfordshire school called Roundwood Park in Harpenden to give talks on English, History, Politics, Theology, Philosophy, History of Art and Gender Studies to the students. You are even given a reading list to prepare for them in advance. It all ends with an aptitude test and a two day summer residential stay at Balliol.

There is one initiative that I particularly like. That is Wadham College’s “grade forgiveness” approach (have also heard this happens in some other colleges, in individual, deserving cases).

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/may/23/oxford-university-wadham-college-diversity-admissions-state-schools

For example, take a state schooler who faces many educational obstacles, and comes from a challenging socio-economic background. He/she obtains an offer to study at Oxford. However on results day, they miss their offer and maybe get AAB instead of AAA. Wadham will look at the students on a case by case basis and, subject to their perceived potential, may let them in.

As Hugh Munro, Wadham’s access and outreach coordinator confirms:

“If the targeted students fail to reach their expected A-levels and would otherwise fail to be admitted, the college has careful discussions about whether to go ahead and admit them anyway” (The Guardian “Oxford’s Wadham College – Diversity Drives Standards Up, Not Down, 23 May 2018)

I personally believe this idea works because it is simple, cheap and effective at recruiting those intelligent, worthy disadvantaged people who might otherwise slip through the net. This is not “dumbing down”, or letting in under-represented groups for the sake of it. As Ken Macdonald, warden of Wadham, states

“Someone who’s got an A and two Bs from a crap comprehensive in Hull is quite capable of being as clever, if not cleverer, than someone who got 3A*s at Westminster”.

According to Macdonald, Wadham takes “10, 15, 20 such students per year, especially in flagged cases. They end up doing just as well.”

But what about public and independent schools? Is this not discriminating against them?

Macdonald counters:

“In what sense is taking people from public schools massively, disproportionately not… a policy of discrimination? If we test past achievement alone, we disadvantage people from under represented backgrounds”.

Rusbridger concurs:

“There is evidence that students who make it through from disadvantaged backgrounds eventually outperform their peers from better state and independent schools…I personally know of a good many students at LMH who did not rank among the algorithmic “best” but whose potential was nevertheless spotted by experienced tutors. The tutors derive the utmost satisfaction from watching them grow - and often – shine.”

(“If Oxford Shrugs”, Prospect Magazine, 18 August 2018)

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/if-oxford-shrugs-alan-rusbridger-admissions-lmh

Reply 10

Oxford Mum

The Univ Opportunity Programme

https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/learn-at-univ/opportunity-programme/

Gives us a glimpse of what the Opportunity Oxford scheme will look like.

Since October 2016 Univ have increased their undergraduate intake by 10%. The extra places are open only to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who narrowly missed a place at Univ. To qualify you need to come from “a lower-performing school and living in an area of relative socio-economic deprivation. Additionally, all students who have been in care for more than three months are eligible”. Such students apply to Univ in the same way, but before they start in October they are offered a free four-week “bridging programme” at the college in summer. This involves “subject-specific tuition, wider exploration of academic material and the development of key academic skills” ready for the first term. In addition each student who attends is offered a £500 grant. This initiative has led to a marked increase in applications to Univ from under represented socio-economic groups.

Last but not least there is the Foundation Year at Lady Margaret Hall

which is the forerunner of the future Foundation Oxford scheme

https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/prospective-students/foundation-year/lmh-foundation-year-students

Twelve lucky students will get the chance to study on a “one year, fully funded course that takes academically able students from under-represented groups, and through a combination of academic and personal support enables them to fulfil their academic potential”.

16 subjects are available. These are

Sciences
Biology, Biochemistry, Engineering, Mathematics, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics and Psychology (A levels grades ranging from AAB to ABB)
Humanities
Classics, Classics and English, English, English and French, English and Spanish, French, Law, Music, Spanish, Theology, Theology and Philosophy (grades ABB to BBB).

There are provisos:

The combined total household income must be under £42,875.00

You must belong to a socio-economic group that is under-represented in higher education, based on the occupation of your parent(s)/guardian(s)
You must be educated at a UK state school and be under the age of 19, or in the care of a local authority for more than 6 months.

However, as Rusbridger notes, “Once they arrive in Oxford, we don’t think of their backgrounds, we think of their futures”.

You can go on to study at LMH at undergraduate level, with an offer one grade below the traditional offer from Oxford University, e.g. BBB rather than AAA.

Teachers are told to provide references for the students. LMH are looking for students who are “dedicated, sharp, analytical and motivated”. They are also the type of people who “achieved good grades at GCSE and A level, but not of a level which would have secured a place at Oxford in the normal way”.

This is what LMH have to say about their Foundation Year

“As a student on the Foundation Year you will live and study at Lady Margaret Hall, a college of the University of Oxford. Over the academic year, you will receive tuition in your chosen subject and in two core subjects. All of this teaching is aimed at preparing Foundation Year students to go on and excel either at Oxford University or at another top Russell Group university.

Students on the Foundation Year are encouraged to engage with the wider body of Oxford University students and have full use of the Oxford University libraries, sports and social clubs”.

See more details on LMH’s website.

https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/prospective-students/foundation-year

Miss Varz’s report on the foundation year programme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nig-KGdj4pQ

Here is the LMH Principal’s Alan Rusbridger’s moving reaction to the first couple of intakes on this scheme, taken from his blog “Hell Passage”.

“They (the students) are exceptional young people and have adapted so well to life in Oxford. Their average household income is £13,000.00. Most of them have overcome considerable economic or social challenges to have achieved their level of study.”

He has personally taught the students, helping them with writing (he used to be editor of the Guardian) and constructing an argument. He has taken them to see a murder trial and a play. It is touching to note that out of the ten participants in the first cohort, only three had ever seen a play.

At first, the students lacked confidence. One of them commented “I don’t have the same skill set because I haven’t been groomed the same way… to talk in a proper way, make conversation in a certain way”.

But they needn’t have worried. During the programme, the students “absorbed information like sponges”. Before long, their self-esteem had blossomed and their grades were boosted significantly. And the rest of the students at the college have welcomed them to such an extent that they were unaware who were the foundation students and who weren’t!

Out of the ten pioneer participants, nobody dropped out. Seven out of the ten went on to study at LMH as undergraduates. The other three found places at other top universities.

The foundation year has been funded entirely by alumni, who have dipped their hands in their pockets to the tune of nearly £800,000.00. LMH has been “inundated with offers from members of the college offering advice, mentoring and support”.

As a result of their various outreach programmes, LMH has seen a rise of 30% in applications over the past year, naming them as a first choice college.

Last, but not least, here is the Oxbridge equivalent of our very own Oxford and Cambridge Demystified, InsideUni:

https://insideuni.org/

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 11

Oxford Mum

Unfortunately, as with everything Oxford, all of these schemes are over-subscribed. This is why I recommend applying to as many as possible, but only taking up one scheme, so as many people as possible can benefit. After all, they are, in most cases, broadly similar.

Demand is massive. Spaces are in short supply.

Don't be put off by this: just apply anyway!

Even if you are unsuccessful, don't give up. It's perfectly possible to get into Oxford without participating in a scheme.

Who are the best advertisements for fairer access?

Certainly not me.
Not even Oxford University.

It will be those students who participated in the access programmes, and went on to secure a place against the statistical odds.

Future students will not listen to us old fogies, so it's all up to you!

Get on a stage, or in front of a TV camera, and tell people with no hope that Oxford will listen to them and change their lives.

Only then can we kill off the negative stereotypes and create a more equal Oxford.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 12

harrysbar

A very useful resource for TSR and so very well researched and written :hugs:

Reply 13

Oxford Mum

A true compliment, coming from you, Johan! The Linacre scheme specifically targets Northern Schools. Target Oxbridge and Uniq summer schools, plus the pathways schemes are for people from all over the UK. Ditto the Eton summer school. What I want is to use this chapter as a platform for discussion, and see if others know of any other schemes I can post on here, (especially other Oxford colleges).

The amount of schemes really also depends on how much individual colleges are doing to help the area they serve.

Plus have a look at this article about Mansfield College, Oxford. According to the article, Mansfield's yearly intake of state school students regularly hovers around the 80% state school mark, as opposed to the 55-60% at other colleges.

https://medium.com/oxford-university/how-mansfield-college-is-leading-oxfords-charge-to-break-down-barriers-to-education-f638d43de71

Before you apply to Mansfield, please check it offers your subject. It does not, for instance, offer German or Medicine.

Yes, colleges do try to think outside the box once you have applied. However the help is really needed before students apply.

By the way, Johan I agree with you about the patchy geographical service regarding Oxford schemes.

Oxford does need more schemes for the North. Over to you, Oxford.

Reply 14

TheMadNerd93

Another very well-written piece which I hope will be stumbled across and read by those who genuinely have the dire wish to apply to Oxford yet are mentally hindered by their discouraging circumstances...

Reply 15

Oxford Mum

Original post by TheMadNerd93

That's absolutely right. If people were to stumble across this and thought, "you know what, I never thought of Oxford, but I could do this," then get in... that would be my idea of sheer heaven

Reply 16

username1539513

I wish I knew about all these things when I was taking my GCSEs (long time ago now)

These threads of yours should be on the walls of every school and college up and down this country Oxford Mum!

Reply 17

Muttley79

Many teachers know this stuff - noting new here - even in comprehensive schools! Just ask if you are genuinely interested and teachers also look out for potential Oxbridge students. However, quite a few subjects are better elsewhere these days.

Reply 18

username1539513

Original post by Muttley79

Really? I had no idea that this stuff even existed. Granted my teachers clearly didn’t perceive us as Oxbridge material but this info should still be widely available to students, not just teachers. If you come from a secondary school like the one I went too you just assume you have no chance because you’re not at Eton or private school