Selwyn College has created a new Schools Liaison Officer role based in the north of England, in the hope of making Cambridge more accessible to northern students “irrespective of their background.”

Most colleges have a Schools Liaison Officer, but only Queens' and now Selwyn have one in the north.

Joe Stanley, from Rotherham in Yorkshire, has been appointed to the role by Selwyn. 

Stanley said that his background as the “first in [his] family to go to university”  has given him a “first-hand” understanding of “the barriers students from similar backgrounds as myself face when considering Higher Education.” 

Stanley’s aim for this post is to “act as a role model to show to talented young people that Cambridge is the right university for them.”

From Yorkshire himself, the Master of Selwyn, Roger Mosey, said the college is “very keen to boost [their] efforts to recruit more applicants from the north of England, where we feel there is an under-representation amongst our student body.”  

The Senior Tutor at Selwyn, Dr Mike Sewell, explained that Stanley will continue to live and work in Yorkshire, calling him “precisely the sort of person who will help demystify Cambridge and Selwyn, challenging the stereotype that ‘Cambridge isn’t for me’.” 

Selwyn JCR President Bella Cross said that she “welcomes” the creation of the new post, adding: “We have a responsibility to try and reach those who the current education system fails to support, particularly from state comprehensive schools.”

She said that there is still a “stark class and regional disparity” among the Cambridge student population and encouraged colleges to “continue thinking of ways to help combat this moving forwards.”