Together, we'll break down barriers

Inclusivity means taking the practical steps that will allow people who thought they would never belong here to know that they do.

Build pathways to opportunity

It means creating the access programmes and scholarships that recognise the fault lines in contemporary society, and building a bridge right across them.

And keep a very special promise

Together, we can honour our College’s founding promise to include the excluded as we create a community that truly reflects the world.

Our Priorities Are

Expand our Sanctuary Programme

In 2021, Somerville became one of the UK’s first Colleges of Sanctuary. Since then, we have increased our offering of Sanctuary Scholarships year on year as part of our commitment to being an environment that is welcoming to refugees. Now we want to continue building on this important work, which sees Somerville update its founding promise to include the excluded for a changing world. 

Cost: £25,000 p.a.

Secure our partnership with Target Oxbridge

Target Oxbridge has been helping African and Caribbean students and students of mixed race with black African and Caribbean heritage increase their chances of getting into Oxford and Cambridge since 2012. Somerville has accepted exceptional students from this programme, and we would like to do more to support Target Oxbridge’s important work, such as accommodating residential visits and other initiatives. 

Cost: £6,400 p.a.

Support the UNIQ Summer Schools programme

UNIQ Summer Schools offer first-year A Level students the chance to immerse themselves in undergraduate life. Somerville supports the programme by offering accommodation and teaching. 

Cost: £2,310 p.a.

Safeguard our Outreach Programmes

Outreach Events allow us to work with schools and colleges in our designated link regions of Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, Kingston on Thames, Hounslow, Buckinghamshire and the Forest of Dean to make visits and bring students to Somerville. We also join other colleges to build consortia that will reach even further.

Cost: £6,500 p.a.

Fund the Somerville College Outreach Team

The College’s two Access & Outreach officers (one full-time and one part-time) are the heart and driving force behind all of Somervile College’s outreach work. Each year they coordinate a diverse programme of outreach visits to schools in Somerville’s link areas across the UK, as well as organising audience-specific outreach events,  Open Days and local community outreach programmes that enable Somerville students to tutor children in local Oxford schools. 

Cost: £43,000 p.a.

The Rise Campaign: Inclusivity
The Rise Campaign: Inclusivity

Impact Stories

Andrianna Bashar (2022, MSc Digital Education; Somerville College Sanctuary Scholar)

“Being a displaced person can make life almost impossible at times. But the kindness of everyone from Jan onwards has helped me to cope and even to flourish. I never expected to find a second home, but at Somerville I did.”

Sarafina Otis (2020, Medicine, Margaret Thatcher Scholar)

“I grew up a short bus ride from Oxford, but studying at my local comprehensive, it felt like a million miles. After doing well in my Prelims, I was awarded a Margaret Thatcher Scholarship. The financial security it gave me has meant that I can think seriously about the future for the first time.”

Asif Salarzai (2021, History; Somerville College Sanctuary Scholar)

“It always come back to education. Education breaks the cycle of poverty and violence. That is why I can’t easily express the feeling I had when I heard the news about my Sanctuary Scholarship. I simply would not be able to be here without it, and I cannot thank Somerville enough.”

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