Catalyst is a sustained contact programme that provides pupils with tailored support at multiple points in their school career, as well as an opportunity to visit Oxford. Using a ‘hub model’ for each event, the schools take turns to host pupils from the other schools in the network. This means the College has a greater impact in terms of the total number of participants, and shares the administrative and logistical strain of organising large scale events with all schools in the partnership.

The name ‘Catalyst’ was been chosen to convey the positive notion of an increased rate of change: an increase in the rate of applications to top universities, the increased work rate of pupils with the extra drive to secure a place at their preferred university, and ultimately an increased success rate of applicants, are all key aims of this programme.

The programme consists of four key points of contact:

We also offer a Teachers’ Conference and an Essay Competition to all of our schools. You can find out more about each of the points of the programme and these events by clicking the images from the right hand side of your screen.

Our Catalyst Hubs

You can find out more about the areas in which we work and the schools we currently work with as part of the Catalyst Programme below:

Hear from our participants

Here are some testimonials from teachers at our hub schools:

“Not only does the Catalyst Programme get them thinking about their futures, but it also actually boosts their academic performance in the here and now. Students learn first-hand about the variety of courses out there; they don’t all have to be doctors or lawyers or go into business. If you enjoy and study geography it doesn’t have to only lead to a career studying rocks because there are many different jobs out there. The Catalyst Programme engages students to think about their futures, their GCSEs become instantly more relevant to them, and this heightens their commitment to their own learning and ambitions.”

“It was very good to see our students embedded in university life for a day and they loved it. They were very excited by the visit and couldn’t believe they were in Oxford.  It broke down the misconception that you have to be very rich to go to Oxford or Cambridge. On the way back a lot of students said they were interested in applying because of the financial support they could get and they were planning what they could do to get there.”

You’ll also find a range of feedback from students who have participated in the Catalyst programme, along with some images of some of our events, in the gallery below.