Jesus College is delighted to announce a new access partnership with Admiral, the financial services company, which will support a wide range of Welsh access initiatives over the next three years. 

Admiral, whose head office is in Cardiff, is generously donating £120,000 in support of the College’s outreach programmes across Wales; support that will enable its Access & Outreach team to develop new access activities, enhance existing programmes and reach more academically-gifted young people in the country, who are currently under-represented at Oxford and other leading universities in the UK. This work will include outreach partnerships with several Welsh primary and secondary schools, careers and interviews advice workshops for secondary students and bring additional support to the College’s prestigious Seren Summer School programme and the University of Oxford’s Oxford Cymru consortium.

 

Dr Matthew Williams, Jesus College Access Fellow, says “We are incredibly grateful to Admiral for their generous support of our Welsh access programmes. About seventy percent of the ten thousand young people we work with annually through our outreach and access activities come from Wales, and we are committed to inspiring, encouraging and enabling academically-gifted young Welsh students, regardless of background, to apply to Oxford and other leading universities in the UK.”

He adds, “This new support will open the door for more young people across Wales to explore the opportunities available through a university education. We’re excited to be working with Admiral on a range of innovative and informative access programmes that will have a hugely positive impact on the school pupils we work with.”

Rhian Langham, Head of People Services (HR) at Admiral, says “We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Jesus College on their Welsh access initiative for the next three years, and feel passionately about removing the barriers in access provision. We know first-hand the young talent that exists in Wales, so helping to reach that talent through new, and enhanced existing activities, is particularly exciting for us.

We’re looking forward to playing a part in building a curriculum that provides talented students with the skills, confidence and capacity they need to succeed.” 

Jesus College has maintained a strong connection with Wales since its founding in 1571 by a group of Welshmen led by Hugh Price, Treasurer of St David’s Cathedral. Its first Fellows were mostly Welsh lawyers and as a result, for centuries Jesus was known as Oxford’s ‘Welsh college’. Today, Jesus College welcomes undergraduate and graduate students from across the globe, but its links to Wales continue through a unique model of collaborative activities with the University and other Oxford colleges, dedicated to improving access and equity in opportunity for school students across the country.

This work includes a partnership with the Welsh Government’s Seren programme, which supports the brightest year 8-13 students from Welsh state schools and FE colleges to help them achieve their full academic potential. The College is also part of the Oxford Cymru consortium – a group of three Oxford colleges (Jesus, New College and St Catherine’s College) with responsibility for delivering Access and Outreach programmes for the whole of Wales on behalf of the University of Oxford.

In addition, earlier this year, Jesus College announced the Michael Sheen Bursary – a new bursary scheme that will provide much-needed financial support for Welsh undergraduate students. The Michael Sheen Bursary has been developed in collaboration with, and is generously supported by, eminent Welsh actor and activist Michael Sheen, and will support disadvantaged students from across Wales.

The Jesus College/Admiral partnership will begin this October.

 

For more information on this announcement, please contact Jude Eades, Jesus College Communications Manager at jude.eades@jesus.ox.ac.uk or call 07884 584609.

For information on all the College’s access and outreach work, click here.