We were delighted to welcome 40 year-12 students to Balliol for the residential part of this year’s Floreat Access Programme – especially as it was the first outreach event we have been able to hold in College since the pandemic began.
Now in its seventh year, Balliol’s Floreat programme offers state-school students from the London borough of Brent, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk who are considering applying to Oxbridge or a Russell Group University the opportunity to engage with Oxford-style humanities teaching. Over the course of the academic year the students attend a series of two-hour taught seminars, led by Oxford graduate students, which look at Europe during the Cold War period through a different subject lens each week.
While at Balliol, the Floreat students experienced life as an undergraduate by taking part in a tutorial with an academic, based on an essay they had submitted beforehand. The students attended two History workshops focused on working with primary resources and developing historiography skills led by staff from the History Faculty. The group also visited Balliol’s Historic Collections Centre, where they worked with Library staff to explore manuscripts and develop research skills, and benefited from sessions in the Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers Museums.
Participants also had individual sessions with the Outreach Officer, Pravahi Osman, who gave them advice on their personal statements for their university application.
The impact of the programme on the students was evident from the feedback we received from them, such as:
• ‘The tutorials were a great way to experience learning at Oxford — they were far less daunting that I than I thought’
• ‘The Floreat programme has really helped me gain an understanding of the university experience. The academic tutorials helped me improve my confidence as I could discuss the subject I love within a small group’
• ‘Talking with academics makes you realise that Oxford is not an unobtainable fantasy, it’s full of real people who work hard and just love what they are learning about’
• ‘Before attending this programme I was unsure what a good personal statement looked like so the discussion with Pravahi was invaluable to me’
• ‘I have found this programme so useful. Prior to visiting Balliol, I had not even considered applying to Oxford and now I will most definitely apply’
• ‘Being part of this programme with like-minded peers has really motivated me to try my hardest in order to get into Oxford or Cambridge’
• ‘As a result of this programme, I feel more confident and knowledgeable about my Oxbridge application. Floreat has provided me with the necessary information and skillset to get to where I want to go’
There will be an information evening about the next Floreat Access programme in October, as well as a new science programme: please see this page for details.
A group of Floreat students visit Balliol’s Historic Collections Centre:
The Outreach Officer (right) advises a Floreat student on her personal statement:
Photographs by Stuart Bebb.