Oxford roadshow will encourage students

A consortium of seven Oxford University colleges is to launch a regional roadshow in an effort to attract more applicants from further education.

It follows a conference for FE heads to learn more about the Oxford admissions process and explore ways of overcoming barriers that deter their students from applying for a place.

While FE students account for 40 per cent of A-level passes, last year only 459 applied for a place at Oxford, compared with 4,373 from state schools and 3,426 from independent schools. Only 30 per cent of FE candidates were successful.

The Oxford consortium plans to send tutors and students on a series of visits to colleges next summer, and offer summer schools for FE students and sabbaticals for FE tutors.