The life of a proud Stokie at Oxford
Higher Horizons reports on the plumber’s daughter from the Potteries doing the degree of prime ministers at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Chloe attended a Higher Horizons residential at Staffordshire University when she was in Year 10 and is now in the second year of a degree at Oxford University. Chloe grew up in Blurton and attended Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy. Going to Oxford has changed Chloe’s life, but hasn’t changed Chloe too much, saying “I’m gonna be unapologetically from Stoke”.
Not only is Chloe at Oxford, but she is at Somerville College, the alma mater (Latin essentially for ‘old stomping ground’) of Margaret Thatcher. Not only is she at Somerville College, Oxford, but she is studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), which is, apart from perhaps the Classics, the classic Oxbridge subject. Three of the last six Prime Ministers studied PPE at Oxford.
Asked why she had chosen to study PPE at Oxford, Chloe was quite combative and talked of taking the fight to them. She had enjoyed Sociology at A Level and was particularly motivated by themes such as social inequality and the policies behind them. She would learn about ‘disadvantage’ in society, work out quickly “that’s me” and it became something she really cared about; she thought maybe someone from “my side” should do it.
Teachers and peers did question her decision, citing the competitive entry to the course and how if you love Sociology, you surely do Sociology. However, Chloe knew that you don’t have to study at higher education level a course you’ve done at A Level. She was not studying Politics or Philosophy at A Level, but in her Sociology studies she was studying topics, themes, and issues that were political and philosophical. The A Levels that lead you to your degree subject are not always obvious and the same is true with which A Levels help you most with your degree once you get there. Chloe has found the most useful is her English Language A Level, which has helped her in her essay writing. Interestingly, it is an A Level many fellow students who went to private school won’t have done.
Chloe is honest when she notes that being at Oxford can be “daunting” and on occasion she does feel ‘imposter syndrome’. However, it is also “exciting” and she is making contributions and challenging how the college’s policies and protocols affect less privileged students, citing a recent example regarding how the college calculates and records its charges and fees. She has done this in her capacity as JCR Class Officer – a student representative role focussed on improving student life for working class members of the college.
Oxford know it can be daunting for working class students. They run a free summer school called UNIQ for Year 12 students at state schools who are getting good grades, but who aren’t sure how they feel about going to Oxford. For those who do apply and get an offer, they run a programme called Opportunity Oxford where they prepare you for your transition and you get to meet other students who are going through the same process.
Not only is Chloe challenging policies and protocols, but she is challenging her peers’ attitudes, future prime ministers’ attitudes perhaps, and doing so with a Stoke accent; “I’m just as good as they are” and it is “important” they see that. Chloe is amused at the prospect of a future prime minister doing something and at the back of their head thinking “Chloe wouldn’t be happy with this.”
Yes, some of the stereotypes are true, with some students coming from privileged backgrounds. When discussing plans for the summer one student might say they’re going to LA (Los Angeles, USA) as if it is just down the road. Oxford is changing, however, and merit is what matters most; who you know is not irrelevant, but it does not trump what you know. You need to be passionate about your subject and get the grades to do it. No one can claim their passion to be worthier than someone else’s – the ultimate reason why everyone is there works as a leveller.
The ‘Boris Johnsons’, as Chloe refers to a stereotype of student that the former prime minister came to be identified with, still exist but are in “clusters”. The colleges vary too with Somerville being more progressive. This is often the case with those Oxford establishments that started out as women-only colleges. Chloe notes that there are plenty of “safe” and “normal” spaces, using such terms with a satirical smile that tells you she’s just joking, but also that she’s deadly serious.
Shopping habits sometimes reveal the differences, the more affluent sticking to the Co-Op and Tesco express stores and paying a premium, while Chloe (and other students!) will go to Lidl. There are clubs and societies for everybody, and students from privileged backgrounds do rub shoulders with students from ordinary backgrounds; Chloe’s friends are a mixture.
You don’t have to find a club or society, however, to find friends. Chloe notes that she quite enjoys just getting together with friends to enjoy a cup of tea and watching Love Island. Among the Oxford spires, there is the grand, the high-brow, and the well-to-do, but there’s also the everyday, the mundane, and the down-to-earth.
It is a learning experience for everyone. She recalls how her father on a visit to the university was concerned that his clothes would not be in keeping with the surroundings and other students’ parents. He found solace when he got there seeing someone wearing a Stoke City football shirt and struck up a conversation with him while they were waiting for the talk by the admissions tutor to start. Imagine the surprise when that same man in a Stoke shirt got up and gave the talk; he wasn’t a visiting parent, but Dr Steve Rayner, a physicist specialising in gamma ray astronomy, and the Admissions Tutor of Somerville College.
When asked about her friends back home, there was no backlash to her going to Oxford. On the contrary, they were “proud” of her and “excited” for her upon entry and she observes how “they can see I’m very happy here,” with some having visited her at Oxford since. She has not been accused of going ‘posh’, although some banter about being a nerd does take place; being excessively interested in a subject comes with the territory of being an Oxford student and you have to embrace it.
Chloe, however, is acutely aware that there are plenty of young people who are passionate about what they are learning and are good at what they are studying, but who are put off higher education generally, and Oxford especially.
Chloe attended a Higher Horizons residential in Year 10. While Chloe and her parents thought she might go to university, it was doing activities and staying over at Staffordshire University that helped to confirm it. It pushed her boundaries as someone whom she concedes is “not always the most confident person.”
However, she particularly remembers the talks given on HE finance, budgeting and student loans. She learnt that the Student Loan is not like any other loan, it isn’t “proper” debt, with not a penny paid back until you are securing graduate level earnings; no one is ever chased for not being able to pay it.
To this day Chloe takes the mantra of ‘it isn’t proper debt’ to her friends at other universities worried about their loans and to Stoke school pupils doing tours at Oxford; the power of Higher Horizons talks on issues such as Finance doesn’t just hit the learner but has a ripple effect in underrepresented families and communities. Chloe states unequivocally that this was a “huge thing” for her that “has stuck” with her ever since.
When asked to sum up Higher Horizons in one word Chloe said ‘important’. When asked what she would say to young people in the Stoke area today she said that while she happens to be at Oxford, she’s seen the positive effect university generally has had on her, and also on her friends back home who have gone to other universities. University really is for everyone and there will be one out there for you, and for some of you it will be Oxford. And remember, that student loan – it’s not proper debt. Understand this, accept this, and then you can really focus on getting the right grades and making the right choices.
