Outreach Roadshow to Derbyshire and Leicestershire
6 Oct 2026
St Edmund Hall’s Admissions & Outreach Team took to the road for a week of school visits across the College’s link regions, meeting hundreds of pupils across the East Midlands.
This year’s St Edmund Hall Roadshow saw our Admissions & Outreach Manager and Access & Outreach Coordinator travel across Derbyshire and Leicestershire, with visits ranging from the Peak District to South Leicestershire. They were joined by four of our fantastic Student Ambassadors: Euan Willis (2025, PPE), Sandy Hudson (2024, Chemistry), Jasmine Kajal (2024, Law) and Josie Simpson (2024, History).
Across the week, the team visited 10 schools and worked with more than 700 pupils from Years 10 to 13. Sessions were tailored to different stages of pupils’ journeys towards higher education, giving younger year groups the chance to explore their future options while providing more targeted support for students considering an application to Oxford.
For sixth-form students, the team delivered interactive critical-thinking workshops alongside guidance for those preparing to apply to Oxford for 2026 entry. Luke and Elisha also ran sessions for pupils across Key Stages 4 and 5 on topics including choosing A-levels, student finance and an introduction to Oxford and Cambridge. These sessions aimed both to demystify studying at Oxbridge and to give pupils practical advice on making a strong university application.
The week also created an opportunity to speak with the supporters of prospective students as well as pupils. A particular highlight was a joint parents’ and carers’ session delivered in collaboration with Spencer Academies Trust and The Redhill Academy Trust, which welcomed more than 150 attendees.
Elisha, St Edmund Hall’s Access & Outreach Coordinator, said:
“One of the most valuable things about the Roadshow is the opportunity to have conversations with students in their own schools. Questions about Oxford can sometimes feel much bigger or more daunting from a distance, so being there in person gives us the chance to talk openly about everything from choosing A-levels to what day-to-day student life is actually like. Our Student Ambassadors are a huge part of that. Pupils can hear directly from current students, ask the questions they really want answered and see that there is no single ‘type’ of person who belongs at Oxford. I hope that, as well as giving students useful information, the week leaves them feeling more confident about the choices available to them and more willing to consider opportunities they may not previously have thought were for them.”
The Roadshow forms part of St Edmund Hall’s wider programme of outreach work with schools across Leicester, Leicestershire, Derby, Derbyshire and Rutland, supporting pupils to learn more about higher education and make informed choices about their next steps.
If you’re a current St Edmund Hall student and would like to get involved in outreach initiatives such as the Roadshow, register your interest in becoming a Student Ambassador.
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