Schools and Colleges Outreach
We work with bright students and their teachers, offering information, advice and guidance on what top universities, including Oxford, are like, what such an education offers, and how the application process works. We’re committed to empowering young people to make the right decisions about their future for themselves, as well as giving students access to the very best opportunities.
Are you in our link region?
The Outreach Team at St Edmund Hall is the point of contact for schools in our link regions in the East Midlands as listed below, in accordance with Oxford University’s Regional Outreach Strategy. A student’s link region will not affect their chances of making a successful application, with applications from all regions equally welcomed by each college in the University.
- Leicester
- Leicestershire
- Rutland
- Derby
- Derbyshire
Oxford for East Midlands Consortium
Working alongside Magdalen College and Lincoln College, St Edmund Hall aims to deliver larger scale initiatives in the region, with each college linked to different East Midlands’ areas (see below). More details about Oxford for East Midlands and our exciting upcoming projects can be found at ox.ac.uk/oxfordforEM.
Visit Us!
Visiting a University and meeting current students is an excellent way for pupils to learn more about higher education, and enable them to imagine themselves as students in the future. Our school visits are thoughtfully designed for students in KS4 and above to raise educational aspirations, as well as to provide students with the practical tools and insight they need to achieve their goals. You can find out how each element of our programme achieves these aims below.
What will a visit involve?
We offer a curated school visit programme with a range of activities designed to make the most of a day in Oxford, however we are happy to tailor visits to accommodate specific aims and schedules – just get in touch with us using the link on this page. Here is a sample timetable for the day:
Introduction to Oxford (10:40am)
For students in KS4, the talk focuses primarily on introducing the concept of university: what they offer, how they work and what it’s like to study at one. Where relevant, making informed A-level choices is discussed, and pupils are introduced to the unique features of the University of Oxford.
For KS5 students, a greater focus is placed on explaining Oxford – both in terms of the teaching and student experience that sets it apart, and its application process, including personal statements, admissions tests and interviews.
Tour of St Edmund Hall (11:30am)
Student Ambassadors show visiting pupils the key areas of the college, including social spaces, the dining hall, and library. This provides pupils with an insight into college life, as well as giving them a chance to meet current students.
Q&A with Student Ambassadors (12:00pm)
This informal Q&A gives pupils the chance to ask questions, however big or small, of some of our student ambassadors, and hear about their experiences of applying and studying.
Lunch (12:15pm)
A wide selection of food is available in our large Dining Hall, from soup and sandwiches to a three course lunch. We are happy to cater for most dietary requirements with advance notice. Vegetarian options and halal meat are provided as standard. Lunch is provided free of charge for pupils and staff of state schools, a surcharge may apply for independent schools.
Our student ambassadors will often join us for lunch as a chance for pupils to chat with them more informally.
Afternoon Session (1:15pm- 2:30pm departure)
An optional additional session can be included in the afternoon. We can suggest a session that we feel would best suit the group, although we are also happy to accommodate specific requests for the following activities where possible:
- A visit to a University Museum
- A tour of a University Department
- A critical thinking session
- A talk from a tutor at St Edmund Hall
- An interactive session with our Library team
- An application workshop
We Can Visit Your School!
Our Outreach Team make regular visits to schools and colleges in our link areas. We are happy to talk to students, staff, and/or parents about the University, and can also deliver Application and/or Interview Workshop sessions in the autumn term. Here are some of the talks we offer:
Oxford Explained
This presentation gives an overview of studying at Oxford including information about the city, the university; the colleges, courses, and tutorials, as well as advice on applications, personal statements and interviews.
The talk lasts approximately 45 minutes.
Interviews at Oxford
There are lots of myths about interviews at Oxford, but really they are just conversations about your chosen subject – like a short tutorial. This workshop is primarily aimed towards KS5 students and dispels some of the myths around Oxford Interviews. It alo gives students the opportunity to try sample interview questions with each other.
The workshop duration is flexible and can last between 30 and 90 minutes depending on requirement.
Application Workshops
People sometimes think that there is a trick to writing a personal statement for Oxford, or that we are looking for some special secret formula, but this is not the case. However, it is important to remember that tutors at Oxford are only interested in applicants’ academic ability and potential. This workshop aims to reinforce the fact that academic ability and potential should be the mainstay of a personal statement, as well as providing some advice on things to avoid! We can also provide students with an overview of the different stages of their application.
The workshop duration is flexible and can last between 30 and 60 minutes depending on requirement.
Teachers’ Briefing
It is really important to make sure that teachers are passing the right information about making an application to university on to their students, particularly so with the many myths and preconceptions that surround applying to Oxbridge. This presentation aims to put teachers in the best possible position to help their students make a strong application to a top university, as well as opening up a channel of communication with the Schools Liaison Officer which can be used from then onwards for help and advice.
The talk lasts approximately 45 minutes, plus 15 minutes for questions.
Parents’ Briefing
At times it seems that parents can have the most perceptive and insightful questions to ask when it comes to university, and whilst it should always remain the decision of the prospective student, it can be really useful as a parent to have extra information when it comes to supporting your son, daughter or ward with their future decisions.
The talk lasts approximately 45 minutes, plus 15 minutes for questions.
Remote Resources
We’ve been busy producing a wide range of remote resources to go alongside our current remote session provision. The resources include student Q&A videos, virtual tours and application videos.
Further Information
We are always happy to hear from teachers, and will try wherever possible to help answer questions about our application processes, and advise on how you can best support and inform your students. Please contact Rebecca Smithson, our Access and Outreach Coordinator using the link below:
Please note that due to limited resources we may only be able to offer a partial programme to schools and colleges with a strong history of sending successful applicants to Oxford.
GDPR
As part of an outreach event, we may collect personal information about participants to help organise the event and/or to help evaluate the event. The following form is an example of the type of form we use to collect information about participants: Sample Outreach Event Participant Form.
The following University of Oxford HEAT Privacy Notice applies to all data collected in this way: University of Oxford HEAT Privacy Notice.
Outreach News
