St Antony’s paired with local primary school in Schools Plus twinning programme

We are proud to have joined Oxford Hub’s Schools Plus twinning programme and look forward to working together with Windale Primary School.

Oxford Hub, a local charity, launched an ambitious scheme to twin local primary schools with Oxford University Colleges in 2021. Five Oxford Colleges initially welcomed children, families and teachers from their twinned primary school to become part of the college’s community, benefiting from extracurricular activities and academic support. 

The scheme now proudly supports matches between New, Somerville, Trinity, Exeter, St Antony’s and Mansfield Colleges with Woodfarm, St Frideswide, St Christopher’s, John Henry Newman, Windale and St John Fishers Primary Schools, respectively.

The Twinning programme provides primary schools with access to college facilities and activities led by university students, like singing in the college chapel, workshops with academic tutors and lunches in the dining hall.

Throughout 2022-23, twinned colleges have hosted 20 enrichment activities for their primary schools, including science workshops, cooking lessons, and trips to some of the university museums, including the Natural History Museum and the Ashmolean. One college even hosted a Year 6 Graduation ceremony in their chapel for pupils and their families, whilst another sent in a Michelin star chef to support Year 4 students on their Food Technology project.

These events have given over 633 pupils opportunities they may not otherwise have had access to, including a chance to visit colleges and speak to current undergraduates – helping to demystify further education and allowing local children to explore parts of their city that might sometimes seem shut off to them.

Colleges also provide primary pupils with one-to-one academic support through Schools Plus, Oxford Hub’s free tutoring programme. Set up in 2008 to tackle educational inequality in Oxford, Schools Plus matches local children with volunteer tutors, often Oxford University students, to help them achieve their academic potential. The Twinning Programme builds on Schools Plus’s successes in supporting University students to share academic excellence across the city.

Speaking about the initiative, Professor Nandini Gooptu, Acting Warden at St Antony’s said: “St Antony’s College is excited to start this journey with Windale Primary School. Working together with a local school is a wonderful opportunity for us to inspire the pupils and widen their horizons, introducing them to our wonderful global community at St Antony’s. In return the school will allow our students to get involved with the local community and gain experience beyond their academic studies.“

Oxford Hub is a local charity, working to build a more equal, resilient and connected Oxford. It runs volunteering programmes and collaborative projects that support people to thrive, participate in their community, and bring about systemic change.

Find out more about Schools Plus and the Twinning Programme.