Oldham Sixth Form College’s Oxbridge success

A record 18 students at Oldham Sixth Form College have received an interview from Oxford or Cambridge University this year.

Of the 18 students, 11 received interviews from Oxford, while seven have been from Cambridge.

The interviews are for a wide variety of courses, including Medicine, Law, Engineering, History, Politics, Maths, English and Computer Science.

Oldham Sixth Form College has a long history of academic success.

For more than 30 years, it has run an Oxbridge Group to help students with applications, interviews, work placements and specialist support.

This is in addition to a wide variety of debates with high-profile speakers and trips to visit universities across the UK. 

Some three-quarters of the college’s students go on to university, with almost a fifth regularly securing places at the most prestigious institutions. 

This October, Josh Bruton headed to Oxford University where his sister, another former Oldham Sixth Form College student, is in her final year.

Dr Richard Lee, Assistant Principal and Oxbridge Coordinator, said: “Being invited to interview by these prestigious universities is an impressive achievement.

"It is testament to the hard work and commitment of the students, the support of their teachers, and the students' wholehearted participation in initiatives, such as our Oxbridge Group, Aspiring Medics' Programme and Aspiring Lawyers' Programme. 

“We are extremely proud of all our students who dedicate themselves to these support programmes beyond the demands of their A Level lessons.”

Meanwhile, five Year 12 students have been awarded places on a highly competitive programme, known as OxNet, which is run by an Oxford University college and aims to encourage pupils from diverse backgrounds to apply to the UK’s top universities. 

Two Oldham Sixth Form College students will be joining the English strand of the OxNet programme, while two others will be participating in the Science strand and one other will be in the Humanities strand.

As well as Oldham Sixth Form College’s Assistant Principal, Dr Lee is the English Subject Leader for the OxNet programme and will be launching the English strand of the initiative at Oldham Sixth Form College in February.

Dr Lee said: “The OxNet programme is fantastic preparation for applying to Oxford or Cambridge, or any university.

"The students have the opportunity to get involved in university-style seminars, undertake research, write higher level assignments, and attend a week-long summer school at Pembroke College.

"It will be an amazing experience for our students.”

Oliver Cooney is a former student of Oldham Sixth Form College and is in the last year of a Linguistics degree at the University of Cambridge.

He is the first in his family to attend university.

Oliver said: “Through the unwavering support and dedication to my education shown by my teachers and mentors, I was able to break through to where I am today, and the vast majority of that care and guidance came from the staff at Oldham Sixth Form College.

“I feel particularly lucky to have had Dr Richard Lee as my Oxbridge mentor - without him, I would have never even considered Cambridge to be a place for me.”

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