Robinson’s Senior Tutor, Dr Scott Annett, had the pleasure of delivering a series of workshops in English to over 100 Year 8 students in Rochdale Town Hall last month, introducing the pupils to the weird and wonderful world of medieval literature! It was fantastic to meet such an engaged and ambitious group of students from 17 different schools in Rochdale and its surrounding areas.

The visit was part of an ongoing project to improve soft skills, raise attainment, and increase applications for post-16 students from underrepresented backgrounds in the North West to Russell Group Universities and the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. The collaboration between these universities and the schools address an ongoing issue of ‘undermatching’ higher education choices which significantly affects students from the state-maintained sector. The project aims to target pupils at an early stage in their school careers to avoid doing “too little too late” when their decisions and preparation for where they go may have already solidified.

The project is led by Chris Dobbs, Strategic Director of Oxbridge Progression at Rochdale College, who has a number of further workshops planned in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and local schools in 2025.