Pembroke Undergraduates Teach 16-18 year olds at Humanities & Theology Access Conference

The Pembroke Easter Humanities & Theology Conferences took place in University Place in Manchester between 5th – 7th April. Pupils aged 16-18 from participating schools in London and the North West of England attended the event.

Participants were taught in small groups by current Oxford University undergraduates, most of whom study at Pembroke College. The programme culminated in the delivery of formal group presentations which lasted 20 minutes and took place in a conference-like setting.

We spoke to Sascha-Lauryn Dacosta-Hinds (BA History and English, 2016) to find out more about her experience leading one of the groups. Her topic of interest is the Harlem Renaissance and the title of her class was 1920s New York. “My oyster knife, two bucks and a girl: The Roaring Renaissance”, which looked at the Harlem Renaissance in relation to the flamboyance and decadence of 1920-29 ‘white’ America. She asked what artists were creating at this moment and how this time was perceived by the everyday American.

Reflecting on the overall project, she commented:

‘Not everyone there wanted to go to Oxbridge, not everyone wanted to do humanities but there was desire to go into higher education, a belief that if they did ever decide to apply to Oxbridge they could get in. I believe the project does much to nurture this attitude.

Not only are participants around Oxford professors and scholars, but undergraduates who were in their shoes only a few years earlier. As an undergraduate it puts a lot of things into perspective and it's a great way to consolidate knowledge gained over Michaelmas and Hilary term.’ 

Sascha-Lauryn found the teaching experience to be hugely rewarding. She shared a personal highlight with us:

‘A favourite moment was how my group ran with the ideas surrounding 1920s America and then were able to relate it to the American Civil Rights movement as well as more contemporary history, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, without any prompting from me.’

Julian Wood (History and English, 2016) led a class titled, Drinking Blood After Mead: the Anglo-Saxon Monster and ‘Beowulf' and his group earned the presentation prize at the end of the conference.

Commenting on their achievement, he said: ‘The group rose to the rigorous challenge of Old English with enthusiasm, diligence, and not unsubstantial levels of patience; I'm absolutely delighted with their success, and wish them all the very best in their University applications.’

The participating schools kept audiences updated on social media throughout the event. Tweet from @ASFCAspirations.

The 'Beowulf group', pictured with alumna Fiona Armstrong Hall (Jurisprudence, 1983) and Pembroke undergraduate Julian Wood.

Find out more about our Access and Outreach work here. Take a look at the event coverage on Ashton Sixth Form’s and South Cheshire College’s Twitter feeds.