Universify Education is a charity that promotes equality in all aspects of education. It is an inspiring yet insightful experience that teaches an individual all about the university life- from taster sessions led by professionals in a subject, to living in a dorm within the university. The exposure to a higher academic environment is valuable for all young people. The Universify program advocates for every young person who lacks the belief that they are capable of attending a highly selective university due to their background.

The day-to-day life.

From the very beginning, we were presented with a tour of Oxford University where we gained an insight into the history of its greatest achievements. The tour was led by a professor from the university who helped us explore historical parts of the university such as the dining hall named the ‘Christ’s church’, with great glass stained windows. The walls were filled with fascinating portraits of former college members such as Henry VIII. Later on, we had a session with the volunteers of the Universify program who were experienced University students that answered all of our questions to do with their experience and what we could expect from university life. This particular activity gave everyone a chance to participate and clear their minds of any specific worries they were having about their current education status and upcoming GCSE exams. The volunteers were patient and understanding and made sure that every question was answered with enough detail to guide everyone into a position of optimism and security. 

Everyday, we had the privilege of being supported by committed and experienced university students who fuelled the entire course with a positive spirit. Moreover, we all made great friends with people throughout the entirety of the course during evening activities such as playing sports on the University’s sports ground and playing games in the Junior Common Room of the university. We were also granted the independence of having our own dorm room which some of us shared with the other people that were on the course. Not only did this provide us with an opportunity to meet new people and learn about them, but taught us vital social and teamwork skills.

Unforgettable memories.

Throughout the duration of our course, we were able to explore the city of Oxford and visited Oxford’s Museum Of Natural History. The museum is open to everyone and gathers specimens from the University’s scientific studies. Here we got to learn all about the scientific research of our environment. The museum holds natural specimens for the education of nature and science. It gathers around 7 to 8 million extinct and modern creatures of the natural world. We had the opportunity to hold and observe them which was great in letting us explore undiscovered aspects of the world around us.  The learning didn’t stop there! As we got to the second day of our course, we were placed in the educational environment of lecture halls where we had our individually chosen revision sessions for 3 hours.

The sessions were led by individuals who were experts in their field. This allowed us to choose topics in a subject that we needed help with so that we could feel more prepared for our future revision in the upcoming weeks to our GCSE exams. The course was particularly helpful in making sure that every single student had a chance to receive any help they needed and boost their confidence in a subject a little further. Besides that, we had plenty of time to explore the surroundings of the city independently, which was wonderful, as we visited all the local shops and got to spend one on one time with friends that we had made there. 

Goodbyes on the last day.

The days went by fast as we had settled and become comfortable with our daily routines. On our first day, we had the chance to pick from a selection of subjects for our taster sessions, such as psychology, classical civilisation and philosophy. This was a great opportunity to be introduced to the basic foundation of a subject that had interested us. We were able to pick two that we were the most curious about. We had activities during these sessions which were led by tutors who taught people at a degree level from all around the world. After these sessions, we had our last group activity and got to spend time with the friends that we had made. As well as that, we were able to express our opinions on the program through a survey which shows that the Universify program is always focusing on how to improve the experience for students that participate in it and make it more helpful. We were presented with certificates which congratulated us on completing the program and still receive support from our coaches who we had sessions with during the program to help us reach our full academic potential before the exam period. 

The course also provided us with a careers workshop which was held by graduates from universities and improved our knowledge in all of the different career paths that we can take on in the future. It is important that everyone knows that it is never too late to change what you are doing and this workshop assured those who weren’t sure of what they were wanting to do in the future that they do not have to know right now as education opens plenty of doors in life and it is completely up to you what you choose to do with them. 

As an individual, this experience helped me overcome any doubts that I had about my future and made me realise that hard work never goes unnoticed. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity that teaches valuable lessons.