INSPIRE PRIMARY
St John’s College
Oxford
INSPIRE PRIMARY
PROGRAMME
ALL ACTIVITIES AND CATERING ARE FREE SUITABLE FOR 5 -
11YR OLDS
OPEN TO OXFORD CITY PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Work with our DBS checked student volunteers to enhance your curriculum. They could run:
After school activities such as a book or chess club
Sports Day or creative writing workshops at St John’s College
Classroom support in Maths and English
VISIT ST JOHN’S sUPPORT FROM OUR STUDENTS
Visit St John’s College to introduce your children to higher education and inspire a life long love of learning. Our Access and Outreach team will organise:
University Detectives
treasure hunt
Gargoyle Hunt
Spot the Difference activity
FREE lunch in our historic dinner hall
Host a special event, workshop or sports day at St John’s in our:
200 seat auditorium
Sports facilities
Tennis courts
Football pitches
Historic Dinner Hall
Tutor rooms
SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS
SHARE OUR FACILITIES
Host an INSET day at St John’s and enjoy:
Conference facilities
FREE Lunch
FREE Refreshments
“Thank you for the amazing time yesterday at St John’s College. It was incredible”
VISIT MUSEUM PARTNERS
Combine a visit to St John’s with a trip to one of our partner Museums:
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Pitt Rivers Museum
History of Science Museum
Bodleian Library’s Weston Library
Story Museum
INSPIRE PRIMARY PROGRAMME
The St John’s College Inspire Programme has established itself as one of Oxford’s leading sustainedcontact outreach initiatives. The College is proud of its diverse community, and is committed to working with pupils, schools and sixth-form colleges who are historically under-represented amongst our successful applicants.
In 2022 we launched Inspire Primary, an initiative which represents an extension of our outreach work into the Primary sector. We began with
“When I’m older I want to go to university and learn science”
“Universities can change lives – it is never too early to start.“
Professor LADY Sue Black, President of St John’s College
a partnership with Rose Hill Primary School and have since expanded our role in the local community to build partnerships with other schools including Bayards Hill and Church Cowley St James Primary School whilst maintaining our original links with Rose Hill.
We hope that the resources of St John’s – be they our outstanding students or excellent facilities – will enhance the educational experience of young learners, and help them to make the first steps in inspiring a lifelong interest in education.
VISIT ST JOHN’S
Our Access and Outreach team have created a range of activities to enable primary-aged children to explore St John’s and learn about higher education.
This includes our popular ‘University Detectives’ treasure hunt, which allows young people to learn about university by exploring our beautiful grounds. We also offer activities for younger primary years, including a gargoyle hunt and a spot the difference activity.
OUR FACILITIES
At St John’s we’re fortunate to have outstanding facilities, both historic and modern. We are keen to share these with the local community for special occasions, such as a graduation or prize-giving. This includes an auditorium with the capacity to seat nearly 200 and sports facilities including tennis courts and football pitches.
“The best bit was the food because it was so different to school and the staff were so nice”
We’re always delighted to host pupils for lunch. Our chefs are accustomed to dealing with complex dietary needs and are more than happy to lay on child-friendly meals. There’s also plenty of space for children to enjoy a packed lunch.
OUR STUDENTS
St. John’s has an active community of students who are passionate about working with the local community and making the University more accessible. From music sessions to tutoring to book clubs, there are so many ways in which our students can offer support to your pupils.
CLASSROOM SUPPORT
Our students are eager to get started and offer support to your pupils. There is a high level of interest amongst current students in offering support to primary students in English and Maths. This would be appropriate to Years 5 and 6. At Bayards Hill, our students are helping to run the libary at lunchtimes and are offering reading support to pupils.
THE JUNIOR COMMON ROOM (JCR)
The JCR is the student body of St. John’s and is similar to a Students Union. Together, the elected committee organise events, liaise with the college, and support students with their own aspirations.
The St John’s JCR has a dedicated position – the Access and Outreach
Representative - which focuses on making St. John’s more accessible for students internally, and also for ensuring that it is inclusive and welcoming to those outside of the University.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Alongside academic support, our students would be delighted to offer activities such as a book club for later year groups. This could be either weekly or fortnightly, and would consist of a small group of student volunteers coming to the school to provide the sessions.
Our students would also love to host a sports day or creative workshop as a one-off event in St. John’s College sports grounds on Woodstock Road, or in the college grounds. This could be for any year groups.
SAFEGUARDING
We would love to collaborate on ideas to ensure that our students offer support in the most helpful way possible.
All student volunteers are DBS checked and have completed OSCB Level One Safeguarding. Further training can be arranged by the College for specific activities.
WHAT ELSE DOES OXFORD OFFER?
OXFORD SPARKS
Oxford Sparks offers young people a look behind the scenes of Oxford Science.
BACK GARDEN BIOLOGY
Join Professor Lindsay Turnbull to explore the biology of the back garden. Episodes include The Worm that Turned and Why is the World Green.
OXFORD OWL
Oxford Owl offers a range of resources from the Oxford University Press to develop English and Maths skills at home and in school.
OXFORD BOTANICAL GARDENS
Oxford University’s Botanic Gardens have developed activities for primary-aged children. Explore their killer plants, interactive jigsaw puzzles or try their Wildflower Meadow Spotter sheet.
OXFORD UNIVERSITY GARDENS, LIBRARIES
AND MUSEUMS
Oxford is home to several museums, each of which has a fascinating range of primary activities, ranging from treasure hunts to curriculumspecific sessions delivered by museum outreach teams.
The College is centrally located and within five to ten minutes walking distance of the Ashmolean Museum, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the History of Science Museum, and the Bodleian Library’s Weston Library.
We’ve also partnered with the Story Museum, located around 20 minutes from the College. The Story Museum aims to engage people of all ages in great stories. Their activities are interactive, multi-sensory and designed to encourage parents, carers and children to spend time together enjoying stories in many different ways.
A visit to any of these institutions could be combined with a tour of the College, a learning session from our access team, a catered meal, or a space for pupils to enjoy lunch.
CONTACT DETAILS
“It is so rewarding to be able to share St John’s with young people. I’m really excited to be able to welcome more local primary schools to the College”
To discuss participating in this programme, please contact the Access Office: access@sjc.ox.ac.uk
All our programmes are supported by philanthropic giving. If you would like to support Inspire Primary, please contact: Robert Crow, Director of Development robert.crow@sjc.ox.ac.uk
Dr. Sandra Campbell, Fellow for Access sandra.campbell@oncology.ox.ac.uk