Private Oxbridge Application Consultation

Alison has been working with students at Oxbridge Applications for more than a decade and has individually overseen hundreds of successful applications, as well as advising and presenting to thousands more candidates. Holding a degree in Maths and Philosophy from Pembroke College, Oxford, Alison specialises in guiding STEM applicants along their increasingly competitive pathway–applicant numbers for many of these Oxbridge courses have increased by 50% in the last decade.

Passionate about widening access to higher education and nurturing every student’s sense of their academic personality, Alison is proud to be guiding her 13th cohort of university applicants. Alison has led the teams at Oxbridge Applications and A-List Education and is now Director of Dukes Plus Consultancy. Alison’s personal academic interests span formal logic, the philosophy of mathematics, and abstract algebra. She also holds an MBA and serves as an Independent Governor at her former college.

Tom leads the Consultancy Team at Oxbridge Applications, and has worked privately with hundreds of families, advising on applications across the full spectrum of undergraduate courses offered by Oxford and Cambridge, as well as other G5 universities. After graduating from Downing College, Cambridge, Tom worked as an academic copy editor before joining the OA team. He's since delivered talks at dozens of schools to thousands of applicants and met and advised students from more than 30 countries.

Tom studied English at Cambridge and mentors applicants applying to English and English joint schools at both Oxford and Cambridge, as well as interviewing across a spectrum of humanities and social sciences courses. He has particular academic interests in John Milton, literary architecture, historicity, the epistolary novel, and late Victorian and early modernist poetry.

Sam is an experienced college admissions advisor with a particular focus on the creative arts. Prior to becoming a consultant with Dukes Plus he held the chief admissions post at Met Film School for six years, the largest film school in the UK and Europe. Sam has worked with students pursuing a variety of disciplines including film, music, acting & performing arts, fine arts, visual media and communications. Sam has also held leadership positions in a wide variety of industries from software technology through to advertising.

Ishwa is a consultant at Oxbridge Applications, guiding students from a variety of disciplines on their applications to Oxford, Cambridge, and other top universities around the UK. She graduated with a BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Oxford and completed an MSc in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford. Ishwa mentors applicants across the schools of languages and linguistics, politics, and history and regularly meets with students from a broad range of subjects for consultations.

Her academic interests include authoritarian politics and modern histories of the Middle East, focusing particularly on colonial legacies. Ishwa utilises her multi-disciplinary expertise in her mentoring, enhancing student success with strategic application building.

As Head of Schools, Hayley leads on strengthening cross-consultancy partnerships with hundreds of high schools and colleges around the world, including coordinating events and delivering presentations and webinars to students, teachers and parents on the global higher education landscape and strategic applications.

Hayley has over a decade of experience in personalised university counselling as Director of Careers & Higher Education at leading UK independent schools, and she has personally supported over 1000 UK and International students under her wing in successfully gaining places to study at the world’s most selective universities. Having completed a range of postgraduate qualifications in Educational Practice and Careers Leadership from Cardiff and Warwick, Hayley’s commitment to raising aspirations, broadening horizons, and finding the perfect ‘fit’ destination is unwavering.

Recently, Hayley was elected to serve on the Communications Committee for International ACAC and Advisory Board for Taith; organisations that strive to guide and support students in accessing global higher education and youth mobility exchanges respectively.

Ella graduated with a First in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford, where she was awarded the Styring scholarship in both her first and second years. Following her undergraduate studies, she trained as a teacher with Teach First,  achieving a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) with Distinction and Qualified Teacher Status. Continuing her love for learning and psychology, she is currently studying in the evenings for a masters in Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck University.

Ella is the Head of Programmes and Learning at Oxbridge Applications, and she serves as a Study Director for a brilliant group of Premier Service students. She also tutors psychology, and has delivered numerous Private Consultations for prospective applicants across a range of courses. Ella applies her extensive knowledge of psychology and educational science to her work, enhancing student outcomes through evidence-based methods.

Claire graduated with a Distinction in MPhil Health, Medicine and Society from the University of Cambridge, prior to which she graduated with a First from SOAS, University of London in History and Social Anthropology. Whilst at Cambridge, she conducted research at the intersection of Anthropology and Mental Health, exploring the realities of restructuring NHS Mental Health services.

Claire is a Programme Manager at Oxbridge Applications, and serves as Study Director to half of our Premier Service Students, guiding and advising them through the application process. She is also a postgraduate advisor with particular knowledge of MPhil/MSc humanities and social science applications to Cambridge, Oxford, and LSE.