OUTREACH IN
UNREAL TIMES by Hannah Pack
The College’s outreach programme had to change utterly and at speed when the pandemic struck, writes Somerville’s Access and Outreach Officer.
T
he best way to help a young person see themselves studying at Oxford is to get them here. That’s why, in a normal year, we welcome hundreds of pupils on visits, tours, residentials, our annual Demystifying Oxford Interviews day, and, of course, our open days. But as the chorus of news around the virus began to crescendo, my colleague Nuala – our Access and Outreach Support Officer and a Somerville alumna – and I saw that our access provision needed to adapt rapidly. Fortunately, we were able to get a head start moving into the online world thanks to The Access Platform. A significant investment in Hilary Term, this platform gives prospective applicants a way to chat to our students about any questions or concerns in a safe and moderated forum. Combined with our access website apply.some.ox.ac.uk, which
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launched in 2019, our recent investment in our digital offering put us in a good position to begin the work of post-virus outreach. The new normal brought opportunities as well as challenges. We soon found ourselves busier than ever, conducting virtual visits with ten schools in Trinity and another ten this Michaelmas, many of whom were new contacts. We also joined the new Oxford for South East Consortia to boost the University’s outreach efforts in the region, started an access Twitter account and YouTube channel, took part in university-wide interview workshops for disadvantaged applicants and made new videos and digital resources covering welfare and student life. Another innovation was our livestream open days on 1-2nd July and 18th September. Attended by over 1,750 viewers who asked more than 900 questions of our Tutors
and student ambassadors (two of whom join us here), our live Q&As proved such a hit with students and school communities that the central
Tutors and student ambassadors gave presentations and answered hundreds of questions live from their living rooms. University encouraged other colleges and departments to follow our lead. As the new academic year began, our focus shifted to interviews, which are taking place entirely online for the first time this year. Luckily, we’re well used to sailing uncharted seas by now. With the amazing assistance we receive from the college community, I know that we will keep on finding ways to bring Somerville’s principles of inclusion and aspiration to life.
