The Principal’s Friday Talks and annual lectures

Where do I start? A year ago we were feeling a bit smug about doing so well in the Norrington Table (Remember? Fifth!). In March 2020 we were enjoying the Guardian article that asked ‘How did they do it?’ about our success as the Oxford college with the highest state-sector intake. And then the pandemic stopped us in our tracks.

Within a few days of Boris Johnson’s announcement of restrictions we had to arrange for students to be looked after in College during lockdown, or get them back to family homes. Oxford has a reputation for being slow to process change, but under lockdown, exams were swiftly cancelled or postponed, assessments were transformed or moved online.

And we began Trinity term with ‘remote’ teaching. Our tutors worked extraordinarily hard, balancing family commitments at home, and supporting students through the adjustment to tutorials and exams online. Funding earmarked for awards to students travelling abroad for academic research and internships, was used instead to help finalists who had no desk at home, or needed books because they couldn’t get to the library, or sound-cancelling headphones to cut out the noise of family while they were sitting exams.

But when the exam results were published, 29 of our undergraduates got firsts – one more than last year! Many of our subjects had two or more firsts. We set internal College assessments for first years to replace most of the Prelims examinations, and awarded over 30 scholarships and exhibitions. The Norrington Table will not be published until the new year, but in our current situation, frankly, we have more important concerns.

In this annual report I usually focus on celebrating success. I seldom mention those students who struggle with exams, and who, through ill health or other circumstances, take their finals knowing they are not going to do themselves justice. There were many of those students in 2019/20, and some, sadly, who suffered family illness and bereavement during the pandemic. I was really impressed by the resilience of our students, who completed their exams under these uniquely tough conditions.

And then it was the middle of August. The Government changed its mind about A-level grading three times within a week, and Mansfield ended up with 15% more candidates meeting their offers than expected, including students who met their grades after we had filled all our spaces. Unlucky candidates, and others, were frustrated that we couldn’t fit everyone in this year. We also had to work out how to teach first-year groups, which in some subjects were nearly double their usual size, and to manage College spaces safely so that students could all be accommodated. Where do I stop? As I write, we are making it through Michaelmas term 2020. If you were a student, you can imagine how you’d feel if told you couldn’t drop in and see a friend in another household or another college, or sit where you like at lunch, or use the kitchens – but we are looking after each other, and doing our best. And I feel very lucky; if there has to be a crisis, I am glad to be in a crisis at Mansfield, working with such brilliant and humane colleagues.

To end on a positive note: I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity that ‘remote’ meeting has given us to hold careers events and social events, bringing together alumni and current students and tutors, who usually seldom get the chance to meet up. The pandemic has closed a lot of doors, but the virtual ones it has opened are a treat.

A socially distanced tutorial

Sara Harb, Mansfield’s Kathleen Russ Access Officer, reflects on the challenges faced by our Access and Outreach team this year, and the ways in which they have adapted and moved the College’s groundbreaking access work online.

This year started like most others, with our team making lots of trips to schools and colleges across the country, and hosting visits to Mansfield.

Early intervention is important for raising aspirations, and with continued engagement throughout a young person’s school and college career, can greatly enhance confidence and attainment. A highlight of 2019/20 was the work we did with primary school groups. In January 2020, we visited one of our link primary schools in Doncaster to talk to year 5s and 6s about university. We were extremely impressed with their knowledge and their enthusiasm for asking questions.

Towards the end of February, year 5-8s from the Croydon Children’s University came to visit Mansfield. The group met some of our amazing student helpers, and spent the afternoon thinking about big questions such as ‘is a robot a person?’ – which led to a very passionate debate. Our final visit before lockdown was from a group of year 4 and 5 pupils who were part of The Brilliant Club. They were fascinated by the architecture and by all the exciting things university has to offer, including the free lunch of chicken nuggets and chips – made especially for them by our very kind kitchen staff. Ordinarily over the Easter vacation and Trinity term, we would have been visiting schools and colleges in our link regions, to talk about applying to and studying at Oxford. Naturally, we had to cancel all of our events in March. Although this initially posed a challenge, as our outreach work relies heavily on face-to-face interaction, we adapted well and continued to support our link schools and colleges through these difficult circumstances.

In April, we started a series of articles, linked by the theme of isolation, entitled the Mansfield Isolation Conversation (www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/ isolationconversation). The aim of the series was to give students an introduction to the subjects we teach at Mansfield, and our wonderful tutors. We began with our Senior Tutor’s article on medieval anchoresses, and were soon adding new voices to the conversation multiple times a week. In total we now have 17 fantastic articles ranging from Isolation and Revelation (Oriental Studies), socialising qubits in quantum computing (Materials Science), magnetic properties of isolated atoms (Physics) and Medieval Responses to Contagion (History), an extract from which can be found on page 21. The series has become a great online resource that we can point students to, encouraging them to explore their subject beyond the curriculum in a free and accessible way.

Helpers at the Virtual Open Day