Tackling Educational Inequality Since 2016
For nearly a decade, we've supported young people to access more opportunities in education and beyond. We've supported over 1000 students at a crucial stage in their educational journeys, equipping them with the tools, confidence, and support to aim high and succeed in their chosen path.
Our Story: A Small Charity With Big Ambitions
Universify was founded in 2016 by Harry and Rob, directors of Oxford Summer Courses, a British Council and BAC-accredited short course provider. Their vision was to use their experience delivering transformative educational programmes to advance educational equality.
Inspired by advice from sector leaders, Harry and Rob wanted to develop a programme that would support students earlier in their academic journey, complementing existing initiatives for Year 12 students. And so, Universify Education was born.
Our First Cohort
In August 2016, we piloted our first programme at Somerville College, Oxford University. 41 participants completed the summer residential, followed by monthly coaching from our team of volunteers, before returning for the Spring residential in March 2017.
In 2020, participants from Cohort 1 received offers from highly selective universities across the UK, including Nottingham University, the University of Edinburgh, and Imperial College London. An independent analysis by UCAS Strobe revealed that a significantly higher number of Cohort 1 participants applied to university than expected benchmarks.
Nadia, one of the first participants to join our pilot programme at Somerville, received an offer to study History at Somerville College, Oxford, three years after her journey began at Universify.
New Partnerships
By 2018, we had expanded our programme to St Hugh’s College, Oxford University, welcoming 120 participants. We also partnered with Dallaglio RugbyWorks, an employability charity, to deliver sports coaching training to our volunteers, helping to strengthen relationships between our volunteers and our participants.
The success of these cohorts led to a multi-year grant from the Macquarie Group Foundation in 2019, enabling our two part-time team members to transition to full-time positions. This grant provided the foundation for Universify’s growth into a national charity.
With this support, we expanded our programme across multiple highly selective universities and continued our work to support students from non-selective state schools in realising their full academic potential. Our fourth cohort saw 149 participants complete the summer residential across three colleges in Oxford, with Jesus College becoming our third host partner.
Expanding To New Universities
In 2020, we expanded beyond Oxford, collaborating with St Catharine’s College, Cambridge University, to host participants from North Yorkshire through our virtual summer programme.
In 2023 we piloted our Alumni+ programme in partnership with St John's College, Cambridge. This programme provides extended support for young people in Years 12-13 who are considering making applications to highly selective universities like Oxbridge.
Building on the positive impact of our work, in 2025 we secured grants to expand our programme delivery to Bristol, working with Future Quest and The University of The West of England to provide community-based support for local young people. Today, Universify is a national charity with a team of five full-time staff, dedicated to making universities more representative and accessible to all young people, regardless of background.
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Registered Charity
number: 1167240
Company Registration
number: 10114061