Thanks to new funding from the Tinsley Foundation, Worcester can build on its programme to engage with students from under-represented backgrounds.

The College has created a new role of the Tinsley Outreach Fellow and is now advertising for the combined outreach and research post. It offers candidates the opportunity to lead or support the College’s outreach and access activities for half of their time, with the other 50 per cent set aside for carrying out research in their chosen field.

Among the charity’s objectives, the Tinsley Foundation aims to fight poverty and promote education. Trustee, Henry Tinsley, a Worcester alumnus who matriculated in 1974 to read Modern History, said: ‘We want to make a difference to students who are under-represented in higher education and to enable young people with the potential to feel equipped to apply to university. We hope that by funding a dedicated Outreach Officer, the College can further engage with schools to help drive up confidence and educational aspirations.’

The Tinsley Outreach Fellow will work alongside the Tutor for Admissions Professor Laura Ashe and Worcester’s Access and Admissions Officer, Charli Hopkins, who said: ‘Worcester is showing its commitment to boosting diversity and widening access. I look forward to working with the successful candidate so that we can build on efforts to encourage bright students from all backgrounds to apply to leading universities, such as Oxford.’

The post of fixed-term Career Development Fellow will run from 2019 to 2022. Candidates need to have a doctorate in an appropriate academic field, awarded after 1 January 2013, or submitted for examination before 1 September 2018. They will also have to show their commitment to widening access in higher education to students from poorer backgrounds and ethnic minorities.

The University of Oxford’s colleges and departments carry out a wide range of outreach activities across the United Kingdom.  Through these activities, the University seeks to equip participants so they can make informed decisions about their future education and make competitive applications to university.