Access and Outreach

Pembroke College seeks to inspire and nurture a spirit of lifelong learning and enquiry in line with our statutes, providing ‘education for the common good'. We encourage pupils from diverse backgrounds to apply to the UK's top universities, including Oxford and Pembroke. Much of our outreach work is carried out under our OxNet banner.
 

Led by Pembroke College, OxNet is an established Access and Outreach initiative run collaboratively between participating colleges at the University of Oxford, other Higher Education institutions and seven Hub secondary schools/colleges in West London, the North West and North East of England. OxNet's national network of Hubs work with multiple Link schools in their respective areas of the UK, existing in long-term strategic relationships. This direct relationship enables OxNet to sit at the heart of local communities, championing local interests & needs.

OxNet runs 5 academically-intensive programmes, which are offered to approximately 140 Year 12 pupils across our target regions every year. OxNet’s five programmes are: 1) Humanities & Social Science, 2) Languages, 3) English, 4) Science, and 5) Philosophy & World Religions. Participation in one of the year-long OxNet programmes includes a variety of activities, such as: a Study Skills Day, a 6-week Seminar Series, an Easter Essay Competition, a Summer School, and a Twilight Talks series.

OxNet’s primary three aims are to be:

• Attainment driven: We aim to raise educational standards through emphasising challenging but sustained academic activities, which have a direct impact on pupil attainment. This is to be achieved through taking a long term, strategic, unapologetically academic approach to delivering our Access goals, which has a dedication to the equitable distribution of opportunity
• Regionally focused: We aim to build a diverse network of university & school partnerships which encourage regional collaboration to address specific, local needs. This network should focus on pupils in London, the North West & North East of England, to ensure that every young person, irrespective of background or location, has access to the University of Oxford and other competitive universities
• Community orientated: We aim to take a longitudinal, collaborative, holistic approach to Access work, by working with younger age groups, wider communities, schools/colleges and other HE institutions. Through strengthening these community relationships and encouraging the sharing of expertise between numerous parties, we ensure that we remain responsive to the voices of local actors, transparent in our processes and collaborative within our sector.

OxNet also works closely with its sister organisation, CredOx, which aims to ensure a data-driven, evidence-based approach to both our access work and our admissions strategy, in addition to focusing on delivering defined outcomes, rather than preserving existing process.

In addition, OxNet Youth Scholars engages with younger age groups to develop academic confidence, curiosity and criticality in pupils who range from Year 5-11, through sustained academic activities, mainly in the North West of England. This vital work is delivered in collaboration with a number of schools and universities, including the University of Cambridge. 

For more information about OxNet, head to their website here.

Read about OxNet’s joint work with the Rochdale Development Agency here.

If you're interested in volunteering, you can email Morgan Lewis, the OxNet Officer.