Pembroke JCR Access and Outreach Rep co-founds free mentorship organisation for students in the North East

Pembroke’s JCR Access and Outreach Representative, Lennon Airey (2024, History), has co-founded an independent free mentorship programme for state school students across the Northeast of England. Featured on ITV News and BBC Radio 1, State Elevate pairs undergraduates from top UK universities with students from North East schools and colleges, offering free support for university applications including interview preparation. This initiative aims to encourage ambitious students to apply to top universities regardless of their background because “it’s not about where you’re from but where you want to go.” We spoke to Lennon to find out more about StateElevate. 

Tell us about StateElevate. What inspired you to create it?

StateElevate is about ensuring that it's not about where you're from, but where you want to go. Directed independently by myself and Grace Wilson, StateElevate uses the expertise and good will of passionate and high-achieving undergraduates to help state-school students from the North East of England apply for top universities. We’ve been excited to have featured on ITV Tyne Tees and BBC Newsbeat in recent months.

We work collaboratively with schools and handle everything application-based, offering free, detailed support on personal statements, admissions tests and interviews. This academic year (2025-26), StateElevate is working with over 50 pupils in schools spanning the North East, from Hartlepool and Stockton, to Sunderland, Washington and Birtley. Each applicant is mentored by an undergraduate in their field of study – we currently have around 45 mentors who represent a wide range of subject areas and backgrounds.

StateElevate is on a mission to ensure that success is determined by ambition and skill, not background!

Tell us more about your own journey to Pembroke.

I come from Sunderland originally and attended a state comprehensive school which lacked the resources to push students beyond their comfort zone. I applied for Pembroke’s OxNet programme in Year 12 and it changed my mindset on Oxford altogether. It took me, a state school student from an area with low progression to higher education, and made me believe that Oxford was possible. While StateElevate is independent of OxNet, I am extremely keen to pay back those who believed in my potential during my journey to Oxford, through extending the ladder to students in the North East that simply don't get the support they need. Now an undergraduate at Pembroke, I feel like I have a platform to break down some of these barriers, and I hope that StateElevate will do that. 

What advice do you have for anyone worried that Oxford might not be for them?

Apply! My mindset, and the mindset I try to convey to my mentees, is that the best way to guarantee you won't get into Oxford is to not apply in the first place. Oxford is undoubtedly a challenging environment with the intense workload and moving away from home, but it really is the best place to be if you love your subject and want to explore it further. The North East has a significant pool of talented students in state schools. The North East does not have a shortage of ambition and talent, it just has untapped ambition and talent. I'm determined to try and change this.

What are your hopes for StateElevate and what are your own plans for the future?

The immediate next step for StateElevate is to establish a network of connections and speakers to inspire students and break down barriers to opportunity in often closed-off careers. Amongst our exciting speakers in the coming months will be former British Ambassador to Russia (2016-2020), Laurie Bristow. Next year, I would like to see StateElevate expand, so that we mentor hundreds, not tens of students.

We’re proud of Lennon for establishing this inspiring initiative. We look forward to seeing StateElevate grow!