University of Oxford will be recruiting Year 12 students from Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Swindon and Berkshire to start the Pathways to Law Programme in November 2016. Pathways to Law was set up in 2006 by the Sutton Trust and the College of Law (now the Legal Education Foundation) to widen access to the legal profession. Pathways to Law delivers a full and varied programme of lectures, seminars, advice and guidance sessions, skills-development workshops and interaction with undergraduate students and professionals through e-mentoring and a legal work placement.
We are looking to recruit 35 students who have just started in Year 12. The programme runs from the autumn term of Year 12 and will continue until the group complete Year 13. The participants do not have to be set on applying to study law at university, and they do not need to be planning to apply to Oxford University. Pathways to Law is entirely free to students, and includes a travel bursary.
The programme, organised and run by Oxford University’s Law Faculty includes:
· An introductory event for students and their parents/carers
· Work experience in the legal sector at leading law firms, regional firms and non-profit organisations such as legal advice centres
· A range of sessions over two years covering a diverse range of topics including choosing and applying to a university, CV and interview techniques, subject-specific revision sessions and workshops on different areas of the law
· E-mentoring from current undergraduate law students
· A trip to the Inner Temple and Royal Courts of Justice in London
· Visits to other Pathways to Law universities
· A residential conference next summer to give students a taste of life at university and to take part in a range of workshops, debates and lectures.
In order to target this programme successfully, we would be grateful if you could promote it to students based on the following selection criteria:
1. Applicants should have achieved at least 5 A grades at GCSE
2. And meet one or more of the following criteria:
a. Have spent over 13 weeks in care at any point in their life
b. Have substantial responsibilities as a young carer
c. Live in a neighbourhood where a low proportion of young people go to university (for this we use POLAR3 data and are prioritising those applicants living in quintiles 1 or 2)
d. At any time while at secondary school, have been eligible for Free School Meals or is eligible the 16-19 Bursary
e. Applicants whose parents or guardians do not have a higher education level qualification
In the case of over-subscription, preference will be given to students who meet the following additional criteria:
· In schools with below average levels of attainment / progression to university
· In schools with high free school meal rates
Applications are open now and close at 12 noon on 26 September. Please direct any interested students to the application portal – www.suttontrust.com/applypathways. For information please contact me on 01865 280126 or pathwaystolaw@admin.ox.ac.uk.