Balliol offers sustained contact programmes for Year 12 students from the UK who have different interests. The Floreat Programme is designed for students who aspire to study a Humanities Degree. Frontier is a Science programme. Starting in January 2023, we will also pilot Monday Maths, which is designed for students intending to study Mathematics at a competitive university.
Monday Maths
Monday Maths is a programme for students who aspire to study maths at Oxbridge or another highly competitive university. It is open to UK state school students who are in year 12 and are studying Maths A Level (Further Maths is helpful but it is not a requirement). Students should be aspiring to achieve an A* at Maths A Level. Students will take part in eight 2‑hour online sessions beginning Monday 30 January, for which they will have to prepare. Therefore they need to be able to set aside up to four hours per week to accommodate this programme. The programme will include a visit to Balliol and support pre- and post-application. Applications from London, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire Suffolk and from service children anywhere in the country will be prioritised; however, students from other areas of the country are welcome to apply.
Participants of the Monday Maths programme can find the seminar dates and required pre-reading here.
Balliol College Floreat Access Programme
Floreat is a year-long academic programme offered to Year 12 students from UK state schools. Applications from students in the London borough of Brent, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and the East of England are prioritised along with service children from anywhere in the country, however students from other regions are welcome to apply. The Floreat programme offers the opportunity to engage with Oxford-style humanities teaching, and it is offered to students free of charge. The bulk of the academic content is delivered through a series of virtual academic seminars, led by Oxford University representatives and hosted after school hours. The programme also includes a residential summer school in Oxford during which students take part in a tutorial.
This opportunity suits academically able students who are interested in studying an arts/humanities programme at Oxbridge and who are keen to engage with academic ideas outside their school curriculum, ahead of applying to university the following year.
Taught sessions begin in Spring Term and end shortly after Easter. Students will have work to complete prior to attending the residential in August, during which they will receive support with the application process. Participants need to commit to attending all the seminars and the residential.
‘In all likelihood, I would not have applied to Oxford, let alone Balliol, had I not taken part in the Floreat access scheme. The programme allowed me to meet similar people from local schools, helping me to grow in confidence both academically and socially, and helped me to realise that applying to Oxford would be the best thing I could possibly do to pursue my love of History.’ — Gregory Brinkworth came to Balliol in 2016 to read for a BA History and graduated with a first class honours degree.
‘Collaborating with like-minded individuals has developed both my understanding of topics and confidence in expressing my ideas.’ Alex, 2021
Balliol College Frontier Access Programme
Frontier is our science-based sustained contact programme which is open to Year 12 students who attend UK state schools. Applications from students in the London borough of Brent, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and the East of England are prioritised along with service children from anywhere in the country, however students from other regions are welcome to apply. Frontier consists of a series of virtual academic seminars, for which students will have to prepare, beginning in Spring Term 2023 followed by a residential in August 2023.
This opportunity suits academically able students who are interested in studying a science programme at Oxbridge and who are keen to engage with academic ideas outside their school curriculum, ahead of applying to university the following year. Students explore topics with input from a range of science subjects.
Floreat & Frontier 2023
On Thursday 3 November 2022, we ran an online information evening covering both of these programmes for 2023. if you would like to see the slides from that presentation, please use this link.
Participants of Floreat and Frontier will find the seminar dates and required pre-reading by following the links below:
Floreat 2023 seminar dates and pre-reading