The Academic Office

Steve Rayner oversees the College’s academic activities, including admissions and outreach, and supports Fellows and Students in their teaching and learning.

He is responsible for overseeing the work of the College Access and Outreach Team, including Somerville’s regional work as part of the Oxford South-East consortium of colleges (see Oxford for South East | University of Oxford) and is a trustee of Universify Education. As a native of Stoke-on-Trent and a season ticket holder at Stoke City Football club for over twenty years, until that particular mix of joy and suffering was rudely interrupted by the pandemic, he is also particularly interested in access and outreach in Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire. As a result, Somerville is a member of the Uni Connect partnership Higher Horizons+ (see Higher Horizons+ – Part of the Uni Connect Programme).

As Senior Tutor, Steve is responsible for the work of the Academic Office, which supports graduate and undergraduate students, along with tutors and Fellows, in their academic activities. This includes supporting Somerville applicants and selectors through the undergraduate admissions process here at Oxford.

Steve’s background is in Physics, specifically Very High Energy Gamma Ray Astronomy research, but his work at Somerville encompasses all subjects studied by Somervillians.

Lucy is Somerville’s Academic Registrar.

She runs the day to day operations of the Academic Office, including the coordination of undergraduate admissions.

Saphire oversees the provision of service and support to the College’s academic staff and graduate students.

Saphire manages teaching support (college exams, TMS system, Tutor payments etc), provides support to the Senior Tutor in the recruitment of academic staff, and works closely with the Undergraduate Officer and others in the Academic Office on student administration.

Saphire is also responsible for all areas of the graduate admissions process and support for current graduates.

I’m Jo Ockwell and I’m Somerville’s Student Welfare Lead and Disability Co-ordinator.

I lead the College’s welfare team who are here to help with life’s ups and downs. We’re all trained to support you in a non-judgemental way and will do our best to help.  I’ve worked at Somerville for almost 15 years so have helped students with all sorts of problems. While I’m not an expert on every possible welfare concern you might have, I will definitely know someone who is!

Adjusting to university life at Oxford is exciting and fun, but it can be difficult too. Here at Somerville we are a supportive and caring community: we believe that seeking help is always the start of sorting out an issue, and never a sign of weakness. The whole welfare team, which includes me as well as our Student Welfare Advisors, college counsellor, and nurse, are here to support you to find the resources or methods that you need to manage any welfare concerns you have and for you to be in control of your own wellbeing.

Part of my role is to support our disabled students. If you have a disability, seen or unseen, please let me know so that we can put in place support to help you through your academic studies. I also co-ordinate examination adjustments, so if you have a disability or health condition that means you need adjustments for examinations, please let me know. There is more information about how we support disabled students here.

Some students understandably worry about confidentiality. I want to assure you now that all members of the Welfare Team at Somerville work within the same guidelines on when they should share any information that a student has told them in confidence. You can find out the detailed guidance on our website, but here it is in a nutshell; we don’t disclose anything that you have told us in confidence unless we are seriously concerned that you might harm yourself or someone else. That basic principle underlines how we work.

I am always pleased to chat to anyone who knocks on my office door (House 4, on the ground floor of House Building) who needs a confidential chat or advice/guidance on all manner of welfare or disability concerns. We can talk in my office, or take a walk and chat if that works better for you; just let me know what you prefer.

My training includes:

A note for parents: We would sometimes like to be able to speak to parents about our students if we are concerned about them. However, we are unable to do so without the student’s explicit consent unless there is an emergency situation and the parent is listed as the student’s trusted contact on their Oxford University student record. 

Clare is the Academic Office Administrator. She assists the Academic Registrar in the running of the Academic Office. Clare also is the lead for Somerville Degree Days. 

Victoria manages the processes for awarding scholarships and funding to students.

This includes administering awards for projects, internships and personal development as well as academic prizes and scholarships. She co-ordinates the selection process for graduate and undergraduate scholarships, including those offered through the Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development.

Ali helps with the running of the Academic Office. 

Alison assists the Graduate and Tutorial Officer in the Academic Office.

Aarthee graduated from Somerville College, Oxford, in 2024, with a degree in PPE. As a student she was the JCR Access and Admissions Officer, as well as a college, and university, student ambassador, working at many of Oxford’s outreach events. She joined the Somerville College access team in 2024, and having benefitted from many access programmes herself, strives to continue to expand Somerville’s impact in making Higher Education and Oxford open to any and all students, regardless of their background.

Aarthee’s office hours are 9-5 Monday-Friday, and she can be found in the Access Office in House.