A vital part of creating inclusive college communities comes directly from the access team in the form of the regional link programme. This involves each college being given an outreach area that they can focus their efforts on and, hopefully, across the university, spread the widening participation message to all of the UK. Brasenose continues to maintain a strong relationship with its link areas, with these efforts including annual Easter vacation road trips and a September trip too! This year, there was a strong Brasenose contingent including myself (Medicine), Phoebe (English) and the man himself, Joe Organ. We were also joined by Jessy Ahluwalia (Schools Liaison Officer) and Jemima Robertson (Biological Natural Sciences), as representatives from St. Catharine’s college in Cambridge (all pictured).
Each day had a similar structure; We would visit a few schools and give either general talks about why the students should consider university and why they should also consider Oxford or Cambridge (mostly to year 10/11s) or we would give a talk on Oxford and Cambridge that was more focused on differences between the two, admissions tests, interviews etc. (for Year 12s). These talks were mostly led by Joe and Jessy, with us sometimes tackling the presentations alone on the busier days, and we, as the student helpers, would offer extra information about personal experiences to help it feel more relatable. We all felt that it was so important to dispel any misconceptions the student had about the two universities. Personally, I was nearly put off applying as I did believe the rumours and, if it had not been for Joe remembering me at the open day from his visit to Selby College the previous Easter, my life would be very different. It was a great opportunity for all of us to impart any advice we had about applying, which I know I found very useful myself. One of my favourite parts of the presentations were the questions. It was great to be involved in the decision making process for many people and it was so gratifying to be able to put some worries to rest.
In total we visited 17 schools from across North Yorkshire (some of these were larger events with multiple schools attending); We ventured to Stokesley, Whitby, Scarborough, Pickering, Nawton, Thirsk, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Richmond, Ripon, Tadcaster and Selby. We were fortunate enough to have the support of local students, now attending Oxford or Cambridge, including Brasenose’s own Ruby Walker and of course the principal, John Bowers QC, who came to an event in Ripon.
It was such a pleasure to be involved in the amazing access work that Brasenose is involved in, under the leadership of the college powerhouse that is Joe. The trip was a lot of fun, not forgetting the return of Sharon the sat-nav (she had many reinventions during the trip) and the people-carrier aptly called Eric La Beast (after Phoebe’s enlightening tale involving a burrito) but, more importantly than that, although it is difficult to compare it to the navigation skills that were seen (or, more accurately, not), the entire trip was such an incomparable opportunity. To be involved in the prospective careers of so many potential applicants was such a fulfilling and rewarding experience and we both hope to be able to continue with Brasenose’s access work in the future.
By Brad Johnson (1st Year Medic) with Phoebe Bradley (2nd Year English)