St John's reaches out on Access

Since January, we have hosted nineteen Subject Exploration Days for schools and colleges in our link regions of the London Boroughs of Ealing and Harrow, as well as East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove. Aimed primarily at high-achieving pupils in Years 10-12, these visits aim to provide learners and teachers with up-to-date information and guidance on post-16 options, including advice on how to prepare competitive applications to top universities. Pupils also have the opportunity to meet and speak with current St John’s undergraduates and to experience an academic taster session either at the College, an academic department or one of the University’s museums. These visits provide young people with an invaluable opportunity to find out more about the University and to have a taste of life as an Oxford student. The feedback following these visits has been absolutely fantastic.

In addition, we have continued with our usual programme of outbound visits to schools and colleges in our link regions, speaking to pupils, teachers and parents about the benefits of a university education (and an Oxford degree more specifically), as well as providing practical support and guidance on the UCAS application process. We have also attended a number of higher education fairs, including the London Higher Education Exhibition which was attended by almost 20,000 prospective university applicants over two days. This was such a fantastic opportunity to speak to thousands of young people interested in applying to the University and the event also involved a joint presentation with the University of Cambridge on Oxbridge applications.

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Looking ahead

The President, Professor Maggie Snowling, who is currently Chair of the University's Admissions Executive, welcomed the announcement of two new initiatives, Opportunity Oxford and Foundation Oxford, to help students from under-represented backgrounds. She commented:

'I am so pleased that the University has launched two major initiatives which will increase the diversity of our student body - a vision to which I am fully committed.  The work leading to the announcement has been a hugely determined team effort and I am grateful to everyone who has supported the work. St John's too is redoubling its efforts to reach out more widely than ever through its innovative access and outreach programmes.'

The College is looking forward to achieving even more during Trinity Term. The Access and Outreach Office will be running Study Days in a range of subjects, including Classics, English, History, Mathematics, Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Modern Languages. These events are free of charge and offer Year 12 pupils a fantastic opportunity to learn more about Oxford’s courses, attend talks and workshops on areas of academic interest and meet St John’s tutors. We are also thrilled to be working in collaboration with Brasenose College to run a Study Day in Geography, as well as with the Pitt Rivers Museum to host an Open Day in Anthropology. Click here to find out more.

We are also excited to announce the launch of the next phase of the Inspire Programme, aimed at supporting high-achieving pupils in Years 9 to 11 who attend state schools in Ealing and Harrow. For full details of the programme, click here.