Lady Margaret Hall, part of the University of Oxford recently launched a foundation year scheme in order to improve access to students from ethnic minority and low income backgrounds. Principal Alan Rusbridger discusses with Prof William James about the benefits of the programme, which acts as an educational gap year for students who may not normally think about applying to Oxbridge and other Russell Group Universities. They discuss the case of a refugee who attained ABB grades at A-Level just three years after settling in the UK and beginning to learn English. Such students hugely benefit from LMH’s foundation year – they obviously have the intelligence and work ethic to succeed, but just need a slight helping hand in order to fully realise their academic potential. Lady Margaret Hall found inspiration for the scheme from Trinity College, Dublin, and gained valuable insight from one of its former students, Prof Louise Richardson, who is currently Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
