Celebrating our partnership with Trinity College, University of Oxford
We’re passionate about supporting underrepresented students and we love having the opportunity to share our mission and vision as often as we can. In May, we had the opportunity to do just this as our Founder and Director, Phoebe Praill was invited along to speak at The University of Oxford’s Access Forum to talk about how our professional coaching programme supports the students who need it most.
We were invited to the event in partnership with Trinity College, University of Oxford. We are so proud to celebrate a three-year long partnership with Trinity College, supporting 23 students to date. Since working with Trinity College, we have been able to support all of these students with professional coaching, helping them to utilise their university experience so much more, improving engagement, outcomes and progression. Read our latest Impact Report to find out more.
The University of Oxford
Professional coaching is the route forwards
Phoebe shared the story of how she founded The Bridging Project and how one student’s story inspired her to leave her teaching career behind and begin her mission to spearhead national change in the support provided to underrepresented students during their time at university.
Phoebe explains: “As a trained and certified coach, I could clearly see the evidence for how coaching could be used to develop confidence, problem solving and a sense of belonging in a university setting. Our partnership with Trinity College has been a shining example of how this can come to life and really make a difference to the lives of students, improving retention and engagement for universities as a result.”
The benefit of professional coaching in this setting is rapidly being recognised across the sector. During the event, Richard Petty, Senior Access Officer at Trinity College, also discussed the importance of coaching and how all students would benefit from access to coaching, but particularly those with smaller support networks. It’s a sentiment that we completely agree with; we welcome the opportunity to work with more universities to show what a difference coaching could make to their students.
Supporting a smooth transition
It’s an important time for all universities, as exam season has come to an end and students are ready for the incoming summer break. But, while some students are busy celebrating their first- and second-year successes, others are still waiting for exam results that will determine where they’ll continue their higher education studies in the Autumn. With this comes excitement, but also a lot of apprehension for how they might feel when they start their first year at university.
Hannah Rolley, Head of Access at Trinity College, explains how this is an area that our professional coaching programme can provide great support with. “Some of our students, particularly those who are from first-generation or other underrepresented backgrounds, still tell us they don't find it easy to navigate their way around Oxford and feel like they don't belong here. The Bridging Project has really helped our students to transition more smoothly.”
We work with our partner universities to identify students who would benefit from the programme, providing support and information for both the university and students. Our assigned Lead Coach at each university is a key point of contact for both the university and students too, with the entirety of the coaching programme run by The Bridging Project, leaving no additional admin or organisation for the university team. Students on the coaching programme are also given the opportunity to join termly workshops and create essential connections with other students and forms of support, and the university benefits from termly and yearly impact reports, showing what a difference the programme has made.
A bright future
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Trinity College for such a supportive partnership over the last three years and for enabling us to share our story at the Access Forum in May. We look forward to continuing to support many students in their transition to university and beyond, and to furthering our reach with other leading universities across the country.
If you’d like to talk to us about how our professional coaching programme can support your students, or you’d like to join our team of volunteer coaches, please get in touch.
