• Target Oxbridge (now open!) – This is a free program that aims to help Black African and Caribbean students (including students of mixed race with Black African and Caribbean heritage) increase their chances of getting into the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge.

•  Target Oxbridge podcast – This podcast covers the experience and advice from Target Oxbridge students (who are now at Oxford or Cambridge) about applying.

• Courtney Daniella on ‘what it’s like to be a black student at Cambridge’ – Courtney (a vlogger and Cambridge grad) has done multiple videos on life at Cambridge. This is one example and you can easily find others via YouTube.

• Scholarships (Oxford and Cambridge) – Both universities have scholarships that support applicants from Black African and Caribbean heritages: Oxford-Arlan Hamilton & Earline Butler Sims Scholarship (Oxford) and the Stormzy Scholarship (Cambridge). It’s worth noting that, if you need financial assistance, both universities also have a bursary system which is based on your household’s income. Details about this, and other possible external organisations can be found through the links above.

•  Cambridge ACS (link to FB page) Cambridge University African Caribbean Society – CUACS (link to website) is a thriving community of Cambridge students from African and Carribean descent and they host multiple outreach events for prospective Black students. Check out their Facebook page for updates about their outreach events, or feel free to reach out to them directly via access@cambridgeacs.org.

•  Oxford ACS (link to FB page) Oxford African and Caribbean Society – OxACS (link to website) is a student community in Oxford that promotes and celebrates African and Caribbean culture. They run numerous initiatives throughout the year to support Black prospective students. This includes a mentorship scheme for attendees of their main outreach conference alongside annual admissions workshops. Feel free to contact them on contact@annualaccessconference.co.uk to learn more about these opportunities.

• Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) University open days – Colleges at Oxford and Cambridge hold events for ethnic minority prospective students throughout the year. Various in-person events have been cancelled due to COVID-19, so we are waiting to see which ones move online. At the moment, these are the ones we’ve heard about: Kings’, Cambridge (BME online open day) &  Trinity Hall, Cambridge (BME online open day)It’s worth looking through other Oxford and Cambridge college websites as many are starting to announce online open days. Often you can find these on the ‘Outreach’ or ‘Access’ sections of their websites. If you are unsure, you can also get in touch with colleges by email (normally they will have an ‘outreach’ or ‘admissions’ email on their website).

•  FLY Cambridge FLY Guide to Cambridge – FLY is a network of students and a forum for women and non-binary people of colour in Cambridge. They have various resources and blog posts on their website aimed at freshers which, even if you are a prospective student, may be interesting to read. This is their guide to Cambridge.

 

The resources we’ve listed here are ones that are specific to Oxbridge. However, there are other more broad schemes which offer university application support. For example, Generating Genius which is aimed at Y12 STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Maths) students from Black African or Caribbean backgrounds. It’s worth remembering that many other outreach schemes (such as the SEO Schools scheme ) are aimed at students from a variety of backgrounds, including ethnic minorities.

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Resource names listed: Target Oxbridge, scholarships, BME open days, Cambridge University ACS, Oxford ACS