Law Faculty hosts UNIQ 2019 students

In the summer of 2019 the Law Faculty welcomed the newest cohort of UNIQ students for a free residential week of learning and exploring to give them a taste of the Oxford undergraduate student experience. 

UNIQ is open to students studying in their first year of further education, who are based at UK state schools and colleges. The aim of the programme is to reach out to the brightest students from underprivileged backgrounds and encourage them to apply to Oxford by immersing them in the Oxford student experience for a week.  It is hoped that they will leave with the confidence and the know-how to make a competitive Oxford application.

Lord Patten at UNIQ 2019
The development of Access and Outreach initiatives is a key part of the University’s strategy and to highlight this the UNIQ Law Summer School had the pleasure of welcoming the Chancellor of Oxford University, Lord Patten, to the Law Faculty in July for a morning of taster lectures and Q&As.  He talked to students and staff about the programme and strongly encouraged the sixth formers to apply to Oxford Law.

The 2019 Law cohort was made up of 56 students from all over the country, 15 male and 39 female.  There was a significant increase in male students, up 89% on 2017 which is a positive step forward for the programme as it’s been a challenge in the past to encourage boys to apply.

At the beginning of the week students were asked what they wanted to achieve. 

Student Expectations for UNIQ 2019

“I hope that I will have gained a lot of knowledge about the course and some more knowledge of the law which I haven’t previously gained as well as to meet likeminded people and get direction in terms of my Post 18 options”.

During their week in Oxford the students had a lecture on ‘Causation in Criminal Law’, did interview prep and practise, experienced a tutorial, took part in a Moot and experienced a networking event.  They were supported by current student and graduate mentors throughout, giving them the opportunity to hear first-hand what life as a student in Oxford is like.

Student Highlights of UNIQ 2019
Before they left, the students were asked to pick their highlights of the week.

The highlight for me was talking to the PhD students and the lawyers at the networking event.

UNIQ 2019 Students

The best bit was the whole Oxford experience – getting first-had experience from Law students, getting pep talks from Zoe and being treated like undergraduates.