Year 12 Inspire
In 2019, the Year 12 programme planned a series of Twilight Sessions throughout the year at schools and sixth form colleges in Ealing and Harrow. Sessions include a combination of academic taster talks by scholars from Oxford or other leading universities, and expert guidance on skills development and how to make an effective and competitive application to university. Students could apply to be part of either the Arts & Humanities strand or the Science & Maths strand of the programme.
A residential Summer School at St John’s College, Oxford, was also planned, where participants would continue to build skills and academic confidence, as well as to experience what life is like for an Oxford student.
Click here to view the 2018-19 Year 12 Inspire Programme Flyer
Residential Summer School
Pupils enrolled on the Year 12 programme were invited to sign up for a residential Summer School which took place at St John’s College (University of Oxford) on 31st July to 3rd August 2019. The Summer School was an opportunity for pupils to continue to build skills and academic confidence, as well as to experience what life is like for a university student.
The timetable of events, information on the activities that pupils attended, and other information about the Summer School can be found in the welcome pack below. During the week, pupils completed an audio-visual research project and poster. Examples of posters produced by pupils can be found below.
Click here to view the 2018-19 Year 12 Inspire Summer School Flyer
Welcome Pack for Residential Year 12 Summer School (including timetable)
Year 13 Inspire
Year 12 Inspire pupils from 2017-18 were invited to an intense one-day session to help them make competitive applications to universities like Oxford, demystify the interview process and the admissions tests. The programme of events is shown below.
Y13 Applications Advice Session
| Time | Session |
| 10.30-11.00 | Arrival and welcome |
| 11.00-12.30 | Admissions tests Undergraduate students share experiences of how they prepared for the test.Where to find information e.g. past papers etc. |
| 12.30-13.30 | Lunch in Hall |
| 13.30-15.00 | Demystifying Interviews UGs share experiences of interviewFellow for Access delivers a live interview of a first-year undergraduate student and a seminar of the interview process.Access Officer delivers a skills session on how to critically answer the following question: ‘How do you design a successful computer game?’Graduate students run practice interviews in line with the policies of the University. |
| 15.00-16.00 | Tea and cake (informal discussions with undergraduate students/subject tutors). |
Inspire for Teachers
The Programme for Teachers and Educational Professionals ran parallel to the Year 12 Twilight Sessions throughout 2018-19. Sessions took place in schools and sixth form colleges in Ealing and Harrow and included 45-minute academic taster talks by scholars from Oxford and 45 minutes of expert guidance on how to best support the brightest pupils to make well-founded applications to highly-selective universities like Oxford.
Programme of Events:
• Session 1: Super-curricular activities
• Session 2: Choosing university courses
• Session 3: Personal statements and UCAS references
• Session 4: How universities use contextual data
• Sessions 5: Admissions tests and interviews
• Summer School: Wednesday 31 July
The programme also included an opportunity to attend a residential Summer School at St John’s College, Oxford, where attendees participated in academic taster sessions, visited academic buildings and attended applications workshops, as well as engaged in cultural enrichment trips. The summer residential was designed to provide an insight into life as a student at the College and University, and to provide teachers and pupils with the information, advice and guidance they needed to best support their academically gifted pupils to make informed future choices.
Click here to view the 2018-19 Year 12 Inspire Programme Teacher Flyer