Jesus College is one of ten Oxford colleges that are participating in a new University of Oxford initiative to help able students from disadvantaged backgrounds raise their academic standards and apply successfully to Oxford.

The Astrophoria Foundation Year programme, part of Oxford’s continuing drive to diversify the undergraduate body and wholly funded by an anonymous donor, gives motivated students the chance to reach their academic potential through a supportive and challenging one-year academic course, aimed at developing their academic skills, self-belief and confidence.

The scheme is open to all UK state school pupils with significant academic potential, but who have experienced severe personal disadvantage or a disrupted education which has damaged their ability to apply for an Oxford undergraduate place. The Astrophoria Foundation Year will offer places for up to 50 students each year and is fully funded, covering tuition fees and the cost of accommodation and living expenses for all those participating. The funding is supported by a major gift from a longstanding University donor.

The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Professor Louise Richardson, said: ‘We are delighted to announce the launch of the Astrophoria Foundation Year, which will have a transformative impact on the lives of the smartest students who have experienced grave disadvantage. The programme will enable us to accelerate the progress we have made, as demonstrated in our annual admissions report, in broadening the socio-economic backgrounds of our undergraduate students. I am deeply grateful to the generous donor who shares our belief in the power of education and our commitment to identifying and nurturing talent.’

Students will study one of four foundation courses; Humanities (Classics, History, English and Theology); Chemistry, Engineering and Materials Science; Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) or Law. The Oxford colleges taking part in the first year of the new initiative are Jesus, Exeter, Keble, Lady Margaret Hall (LMH), Mansfield, Somerville, St Anne’s, St Hugh’s, Trinity, and Wadham. By the end of the year, students are expected to have developed the academic skills and confidence to meet the challenges of a demanding undergraduate degree.

On condition that they complete the year to the required level, students will progress onto an undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford without the need to re-apply. Alternatively, they will be awarded a nationally recognised Certificate in Higher Education (CertHE) and will be supported to make applications to other undergraduate degrees elsewhere.

Dr Alexandra Lumbers, Academic Director at Jesus, said, “The Astrophoria Foundation Year (AFY) provides an incredible opportunity for young people with academic potential but who have faced significant disadvantages, to pursue their university dreams. We firmly believe that a university education here at Oxford, and at other leading universities across the UK, should be open to anyone with the ability and potential to benefit from it. This new access initiative furthers the College’s mission in this area, and we look forward to welcoming our first cohort of AFY students next year”.

 

The AFY builds on the model of a pilot foundation year programme pioneered by LMH since 2016. Nathan Lawson, a third-year Geography student at Jesus, benefitted from the programme. He said, “I went to a state comprehensive school, but had to move halfway through my A-levels, which meant leaving my school and my friends. It was a really difficult time and as a result, I didn’t quite get the grades I needed to get in to Oxford. I could have decided to go to a different university but didn’t want to give up on my Oxford dream’. In Year 13, I remember watching a YouTube video by a student who talked about how she’d got admitted as an undergraduate by doing an Oxford University Foundation Year first. It doesn’t guarantee you a place at Oxford, but I applied and got accepted. The Foundation Year gave me an opportunity to prove myself. The course was free and fully-funded, which really helped.

Without it, I doubt I would have been able to study at Oxford, and so am delighted that Jesus will be one of the College’s involved in this expansion of the programme.”

The new scheme is now available via the UCAS website. Students will be able to submit their applications from 6 September 2022 and all applicants must apply via UCAS by 25 January 2023. The first cohort of successful students will be admitted in October 2023.

For more information, visit https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/increasing-access/foundation-year