open lincoln
Outreach and Access Initiatives
We believe that we will excel academically if we attract the very best students, regardless of their financial status. To support this, we have an active outreach programme, including our flagship Pathfinders programme, school visits, summer schools, conferences and workshops for teachers.
Pathfinders has been a huge success, with over 100 students now a part of the programme. We've seen fantastic results, including a 21% increase in applications to Lincoln from state school students and 40 visits to or from state schools in the UK. But it comes with a cost. Our outreach and access initiatives cost £170k per year.
We want to continue to expand our initiatives and continue to break down the barriers to entry which so often associated are with an Oxford education, but we need your help to do so.
Pathfinders
Pathfinders is a three-year, continuous contact programme for bright and enthusiastic pupils who have been eligible for free school meals in the past six years.
Pathfinders runs two key events per year for students. Starting in year 9, pupils will attend one event in Lincoln and one event in Oxford per year. In the third and final year of the programme, the Oxford trip will be an overnight residential and will include a graduation.
Students will have the opportunity to attend lectures, workshops and mini-trips with world leading academics and current student ambassadors from the University of Oxford and our partners at the University of Lincoln. Focus will be on exploring subjects students may not have encountered before such as Law, Medicine, Business, Art History, Politics and Engineering alongside more familiar aspects of the school curriculum.
Students in the programme are put forward by their teachers to participate, providing they meet our criteria of being eligible for free school meals and show an aptitude for learning. We also recognise the importance of providing parents and teachers with additional information about finance, university admissions and skills development.
What do our pupils say?
“The Pathfinders programme has given me a wider perspective of what university is all about. It’s not scary and daunting but quite welcoming. It’s widened my eyes to other opportunities and subjects that I might want to study in future.”
Faye Platt, age 14 from Guilsborough Academy (Northamptonshire)
