Oxford and Cambridge Receive £6.25 Million Each to Boost STEM Outreach for Disadvantaged Students

Oxford and Cambridge universities have each received a £6.25 million donation—one of the largest recent gifts for UK STEM outreach -  to enhance their work with socio‑economically disadvantaged students pursuing STEM subjects. The anonymous donor stated that the aim is to remove barriers in STEM education, address the skills gap, and improve social mobility (University of Oxford).

Oxford University Initiatives

Oxford’s Mathematical, Physical, and Life Sciences Division will utilize the funding to expand its STEM outreach initiatives:

• GCSE Mathematics Mentoring: Students from disadvantaged schools will be paired with trained mentors for weekly tutorials. The university estimates that around 850 students will benefit from this programme over its initial four years.
• COMPOS Expansion: This programme has been operating since 2021, but the donation will enable the university to increase its capacity from 500 to 1,200 students annually, adding computer science, chemistry, and biology alongside physics and maths.
• Bridging Program Enhancement: Capacity will double, providing pre‑university and first‑year academic support for new students in the Mathematical, Physical, and Life Sciences Division(University of Oxford).
   

Oxford will also integrate these efforts with local schools, run teacher‑training workshops, and fund new staff posts to sustain outreach.

Cambridge University Initiatives

At Cambridge, the donation will increase funding for two key programs aimed at enabling students from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in STEM fields: the Isaac Physics Platform, an online hub offering problem-solving exercises, teacher resources, and interactive webinars with Cambridge academics, and the STEM SMART Program, which builds on Isaac Physics to support sixth-form students in gaining confidence and preparing to apply for STEM degrees at research-intensive universities (Cambridge Network).

Cambridge will also expand online access nationally, ensuring students in remote or under‑resourced schools can receive the same level of academic challenge and guidance as those in top‑tier schools.

Building a Lasting Impact

Additionally, both universities will collaborate by sharing materials, online resources, and academic tutors, creating sustainable outreach infrastructure. They plan to track student progress over the next decade, measuring how many participants apply to and succeed in STEM degrees, and use the data to refine outreach strategies across the UK (Cambridge Network).

These initiatives aim to close the attainment gap in STEM, giving talented young people, regardless of background, the opportunity to thrive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.