Inspire Summer Schools 2025

Two of these summer schools were for pupils on the Inspire Scholars Programme (Years 9 & 10); one was for pupils on the Inspire Critical Thinking Programme (Year 11); and the final one was for pupils on the Inspire Year 12 Programme.

These summer schools welcomed a total of 332 pupils this year; the largest number of state-school pupils the college has ever hosted (compared to last year’s cohort of 325).

Participating pupils had the chance to get a taste of university life and to take part in a range of fun and academic activities. During the evenings they enjoyed punting in the river, BBQ dinner, garden games, formal dinner, ‘mocktail’ making, and a very exciting ‘murder mystery’!

The main focus of the summer schools was the academic content that students engaged with in a variety of activities, lectures, workshops, sessions, tutorials, and mock interviews. These activities allowed them to deepen their interests, widen their intellectual horizons, pique their curiosity, help them realize their potential, and raise their aspirations.

The Access Office utilised the talents of staff and students across the university and beyond, to create unique learning environments for each of our summer schools. Pupils visited the Oxford Castle & Prison and the Botanic Garden for bespoke sessions; had tutorials with our student ambassadors; enjoyed workshops such as ‘Government for a Day’, STEP inTO OxMed, and Victorian Newspapers, to mention just a few of the activities on offer.

We are always looking for exciting new workshops to run in our summer schools, so please do get in touch if you have any suggestions!

Participating pupils were extremely positive about their experiences, saying

• “I learnt new things that I had never learnt before in school, and we learnt key facts especially when in medicine.” – Y9, Intro into Clinical Medicine
• “The ambassadors were all so nice… they’ve shown great kindness to all of us which enhanced our experiences in Oxford.” – Y9 participant
• “The tasks were very engaging and incredibly enjoyable whilst also being very educational.” – Y11, Government for a Day
• “The different stations helped the workshop feel interactive and interesting, the topics covered were all well explained.” – Y11, Intro into Clinical Medicine
• “Getting to feel the hands‑on Victorian newspapers from centuries ago… fascinating how they’ve been preserved so well over these years.” – Y12, Victorian Newspapers
• “The role‑play in Government for a Day was extremely helpful in seeing how politics plays a role.” – Y12 participant
• “Great variation in different parts of medicine. Very interactive. The students were very friendly.” – Y12, Intro into Clinical Medicine
• “The Plant Biodiversity workshop… I really enjoyed looking around the gardens and learning new facts.” – Y12 participant
• “The mock interviews really gave me a taste of what tutorials are like.” – Y12 participant
• “Meeting new people who have the same interests as you… easier to connect as they have similar aspirations.” – Y11 participant

Our summer schools would not have been possible without the help and contributions from various people and organisations. As well as invaluable contributions from our ow Housekeeping, Catering, Events, Lodge and Welfare teams, we are also hugely grateful to all those who delivered lectures and ran sessions, workshops, and mock interviews during the summer schools. In particular, special thanks go to Cristian Dobranszki and team at First Light Fusion; James Nicholls at Political Education for Students; and Matt Partridge at STEP into OxMed, alongside Dr Luca di Mare, Professor Kate Nation, the Revd Professor William Whyte, and our college president, Professor Lady Sue Black.

For those who were unable to attend the in-person Inspire Summer Schools, St John’s College also held an online Virtual Summer School. Over the course of a week, pupils were given access to academic activities, virtual museum tours, and career interviews with various specialists. They also had the opportunity to submit to poster and essay competitions with prizes, with several winners from each age category.