TWO students from Priestley College, Warrington, have just received offers to study at Oxford University they never dreamed possible.
Madgey Thompson and Thomas Shaw, who are both studying A-Levels at Priestley College, felt the doors of institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge were closed to them.
“I had thought of Oxbridge as ‘elite’ and Priestley was the first time I had realised it wasn’t out of anyone’s reach,” said Madgey, whose offer is to study French and Arabic.
“Everything I have taken part in at Priestley has boosted my confidence and closed the gap between what I limited myself to and what I could actually achieve.”
For Thomas, who has to decide whether to study Chemistry at Oxford or accept a scholarship from Manchester, it was a similar story.
“Before Priestley the thought of applying to Oxford was something of a dream,” he said.
“However, the Graduate programme helped to raise my aspirations and made me realise people ‘like me’ from state schools can be successful in applying to Oxford University.”
Offers from Oxford, Cambridge and other Russell Group universities – considered to be some of the finest in the country – have just started coming in.
Last year more than 500 were made to Priestley students and this year’s cohort is set for similar success.
Despite this Ian Hughes, who oversees Priestley’s Excel programme, said many students arrived at college not aspiring high enough.
Those with the potential are then given the chance to join the college’s Graduate programme and all students benefit from rigorous academic lessons to ensure they achieve their best.
“It is an issue across the North West that young people do not think these universities are for them, but a huge amount of work is going into proving otherwise,” said Ian.
“We work closely with Oxford and Cambridge to ensure our students see the doors are indeed open to them and encourage them to aim high.”
