Who we are
Our mission at Target Schools is to encourage state sixth form students from areas of low progression to higher education to apply to Oxford by offering shadowing days and an alternative prospectus.
We understand that damaging myths and stereotypes often dissuade students from state schools from applying to Oxford; our mission is to give students the opportunity to see for themselves that these myths aren’t true.
Our shadowing days are an opportunity for year 12 students from state schools to visit Oxford, meet current undergraduates and experience life as an Oxford student. We’ve just appointed a new committee and are busy setting up shadowing days for the next academic year – see our Shadowing Days page for more details!
The Committee 2023/2024
President- Bulcsu Diossi
Hi, I'm Bulcsú. I'm a first year PPEist at St John's and very excited to be the new Target Schools President. It's been great fun getting to work with the committee, and I can't wait to see our Shadowing Days programme relaunched in Michaelmas! Target Schools is a great opportunity to work on impactful projects, and I would encourage anyone who's interested to get in touch and get involved!
Schools Liason Officer - Isabel Ambrose
Hi, I’m Isabel & I’m a 2nd year studying Law with French Law at Teddy Hall. I’m the Target Schools Liaison Officer. We’re currently setting up Shadowing Days. Having volunteered for Shadowing Days in the past, it’s so rewarding to debunk the same worries and stereotypes I had about Oxford. We want to make sure as many students as possible have this opportunity!
Shadowing Days Lead- Ayla Hughes
Hi, I’m Ayla & I’m a 1st year studying Experimental Psychology at Pembroke. I’m the Shadowing Days Lead, which means I‘m responsible for the planning and running of our Shadowing Days! Coming from a state school in a disadvantaged area, I know how daunting the prospect of applying to, and studying in Oxford can be. I’m passionate about improving access to Oxford, to ensure that as many students as possible get the opportunities they deserve.
Alternative Prospectus Lead - Ellen Jones
Hi, I’m Ellen and I’m a second year experimental psychology student at St Anne’s. I’m the alternative prospectus lead. I’m really looking forward to updating it and making it a useful resource for prospective students! Coming from a Welsh state school, Oxford definitely wasn’t something that was on my radar growing up until programmes like this introduced it to me. I’m hoping that we can continue the previous work of target schools to make Oxford feel more accessible.
Vice President Programs - Lucy Anderson
Hi, I'm Lucy and I'm a first year History student at Exeter College. I'm the Vice President for Programmes and I'm really looking forward to working on plans like our Shadowing Days! Coming from a state school in a low achievement area, I'm really passionate about tackling the intimidating Oxford stereotypes that put students off applying. I hope that my work with Target Schools will help people see that there's definitely a place for them here.
Vice President Finance - Barney Wakefield
Hi, I'm Barney! I'm a second year Geographer at Brasenose college. I'm Vice President Finance for Target Schools which means I make the pounds add up!
I want to make Oxford as accessible as possible to everyone by demystifying it a bit and showing what it's really like here. Having taken advantage of access schemes in the past it's really great to be on the opposite end now and helping with student outreach from the university side!
Vice President Projects - Laurence Raran?
Hi! I’m Laurence and I’m a second-year studying Philosophy and Theology at St. John’s who will be Vice President for Projects at Target Schools. I’m looking forward to helping set up the Shadowing Days program in Michaelmas and developing more projects for Target Schools to work on in the future! Coming from a low Ofsted rated secondary, Oxford seemed like a distant and unreachable dream for me in year 11. This makes me very passionate to help develop schemes and projects which provide pathways for people from state school and low progression to higher education backgrounds to consider Oxford as a viable option!