“This programme has made me believe that applying and being accepted into Oxford is a more achievable dream than I first believed.” (Inspire Programme, Year 12 Pupil, 2021)
The St John’s Inspire Programme for Year 12 and 13 pupils (Inspire 12 & 13) encourages high-achieving pupils from all backgrounds at non-selective state schools to make competitive applications to top universities, and equips them with the skills to make a successful transition from school to higher education. For the 2021- 2022 year, the Inspire 12 & 13 theme was ‘Order in Our World’.
Building on the success of the Year 12 Inspire Programme, we extended the Inspire Programme to Year 13 pupils in 2021-2022!
The online Year 13 programme focused on supporting students to apply to university, offered academic tasters and revision strategies, and prepared them to make the transition from school to higher education. This programme was designed to support pupils intending to study at any top university.
You can explore the timetable for the 2021-2022 Year 12 & 13 Inspire Programme below.
Year 12 Inspire Programme
Twilight Session 1 (release date: 08/03/2022)
| Session |
| Oxford Explained |
| Why are insects like each other? (Biology) |
| Ancient and Modern Ideas of Genre (Classics) |
| Rome to the End: Roman Power There and Back Again (Ancient History) |
| From the Big Bang to Biology: Finding Patterns Through Mathematics (Computational Modelling) |
| Skills Session: How to Prepare a Research Project |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Twilight Session 2 (release date: 29/03/2022)
| Session |
| The future of the Museum (Archaeology and Anthropology) |
| The Origins of Sleep (Biology – Neurophysiology) |
| The Dystopian Order: How Imagining the Worst is Norm and Normal (English and Film Studies) |
| Ordering Tudor England (History) |
| Using Statistics to Predict Outcomes in Psychiatric Disorders (Medicine – Psychiatry) |
| Skills Session: Understanding Student Finance |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Twilight Session 3 (release date: 26/04/2022)
| Session |
| How does the environment influence our heritage? (Geography) |
| How does your immune system make you feel? (Medicine) |
| Geopolitical anomalies: what can they teach us? (Geopolitics) |
| How do we see? (Neuroscience) |
| Skills Session: How to Choose the ‘Right’ Course for You |
| Inspire 12 Summer Schools! |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Twilight Session 4 (release date: 17/05/2022)
| Session |
| Unexpected ways in which we use / do not use memory (Psychology) |
| The Noise of Mid-Century Poetry (English) |
| From Worms to Water and everything in between (Biochemistry) |
| Early Modern Women Writers and World Order (English) |
| Skills Session: UCAS and University Applications |
| Skills Session: Admissions Tests at Oxford |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Twilight Session 5 (release date: 14/06/2022)
| Session |
| Palmyra: An Ancient City in the Desert (Classics) |
| Reconstructive Surgery after Trauma: Improving Patient Outcomes and Building the Evidence Base (Medicine) |
| Cancer Research: Accidental Discoveries, Yeasty Cures, and Mathematical Biology (Oncology / Biochemistry) |
| Cancer Research: Accidental Discoveries, Yeasty Cures, and Mathematical Biology (Oncology / Biochemistry) |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Year 13 Inspire Programme
Term 1
| Session |
| Study with students Participants worked through potential interview questions with current St John’s College, Oxford undergraduates. Q&A session with undergraduate ambassadors about Oxford interviews and student life. |
| Preparing to wow at your admissions interview (Causeway Education) |
Term 2
Session 1 (release date: 15/02/2022)
| Session |
| Why are insects like each other? (Biology) |
| Ancient and Modern Ideas of Genre (Classics) |
| Rome to the End: Roman Power There and Back Again (Ancient History) |
| From the Big Bang to Biology: Finding Patterns Through Mathematics (Computational Modelling) |
| Skills Session: Note-taking |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Session 2 (release date: 08/03/2022)
| Session |
| Why are insects like each other? (Biology) |
| Ancient and Modern Ideas of Genre (Classics) |
| Rome to the End: Roman Power There and Back Again (Ancient History) |
| From the Big Bang to Biology: Finding Patterns Through Mathematics (Computational Modelling) |
| Skills Session: Note-taking |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Session 3 (release date: 29/03/2022)
| Session |
| The future of the Museum (Archaeology and Anthropology) |
| The Origins of Sleep (Biology – Neurophysiology) |
| The Dystopian Order: How Imagining the Worst is Norm and Normal (English and Film Studies) |
| Ordering Tudor England (History) |
| Using Statistics to Predict Outcomes in Psychiatric Disorders (Medicine – Psychiatry) |
| Skills Session: How to Make a Good Argument |
These taster lectures were accompanied by a Going Further, which included activities to stretch student understanding and opportunities to enhance their CV and personal statement!
Summer Schools, Study Days & the Inspire Research Project
Our 2021-2022 Inspire Year 12 & 13 cohort had the opportunity to participate in Summer Schools, Study Days, and even the Inspire Research Project. All students on the programme were invited to engage with the Virtual Summer School. Additionally, through a competitive application, 40 pupils were selected to visit St John’s College for a residential Summer School. We received 25 Individual Research Project submissions, for ideas ranging from ‘Will Quantum Computers destroy the modern security systems?’ to ‘Why do “untranslatable” words exist?’ Students in our Year 12 & 13 Programme were also invited to take part in 4 Study Days, and 2 Subject Exploration Days!