Exeter College, Oxford joins Your Future Story as new higher education partner

The Colyton Foundation is delighted to announce a new partnership with Exeter College, University of Oxford, which will strengthen the higher education support available through the Your Future Story programme.

The multi-year partnership will give high-attaining young people from under-resourced backgrounds across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset the opportunity to work closely with one of the University of Oxford’s historic colleges. It will include residential visits to Exeter College for Your Future Story participants, alongside support from College staff and students to help young people develop their understanding of university life, academic study and progression to higher education.

Your Future Story is a long-term collaborative partnership to support high-attaining pupils from under-resourced backgrounds across the South West. Working with 32 state secondary schools across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, the programme combines sustained mentoring, family engagement, university visits, employer encounters and academic enrichment from Year 7 onwards.

The first cohort of 130 pupils joined the programme in 2025/26. Over the course of the year, participants have taken part in school-based mentoring, family sessions, employer encounters and visits to leading universities, helping them to build confidence, develop their academic identity and understand the opportunities available to them.

The new partnership with Exeter College will strengthen this work by supporting pupils and their families to understand the routes into highly selective higher education, including Oxford, and by helping schools to sustain high attainment over time.

Founded in 1314, Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and the fourth oldest college in the University. Its alumni include J. R. R. Tolkien, Sir Philip Pullman, Alan Bennett Sir Martin Amis and Sir Roger Bannister. The College has long-standing historic links with the South West and plays a key role in Oxford’s regional outreach work, particularly with schools in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.
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Exeter College joins a growing coalition of higher education and social mobility partners supporting Your Future Story, including Downing College, Cambridge; the University of Bristol; the University of Cambridge; the University of Exeter; and the Sutton Trust.

Dr Claire Sims, Access & Outreach Manager at Exeter College, Oxford, said:

“Exeter College, University of Oxford is proud to be part of this partnership, which represents an important step forward in how we support high-attaining students from underrepresented backgrounds across the South West.
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“While much outreach activity focuses on raising aspiration, there remains a clear need for sustained, academically focused support for those with the potential to thrive at highly selective universities. Through this collaboration, we are particularly excited by the programme’s distinctive school-based model, which places expert teachers at its heart. This approach ensures that support is sustained, locally grounded, and closely aligned with students’ day-to-day learning.

“At Exeter, we hope to complement this by contributing our experience of structured programmes that combine academic stretch, mentoring, and a strong sense of belonging. When talented students are supported early, consistently, and with confidence-building opportunities, they are far more able to see Oxford as a place for them – and to succeed once they arrive.

“This partnership reflects a shared commitment to widening access to Oxford and other highly selective universities by ensuring that talented students from all backgrounds are supported to progress and realise their potential.”

Nick Wakeling, Director of the Colyton Foundation, said:

“We’re thrilled that Exeter College has joined the growing coalition of partners working together to ensure that young people from the South West have access to opportunity, regardless of their background.

“Having an Oxford college with such an impressive track record of academic excellence involved in Your Future Story will be hugely inspiring for programme participants. Exeter College’s knowledge and expertise around widening access to higher education, selective university applications and student experience will strengthen the programme and help more young people across the region understand the opportunities open to them.
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“This partnership is exactly what Your Future Story is about: bringing schools, universities, employers and charities together around a shared commitment to high attainment, opportunity and long-term support for young people and their families.”