Last week we were thrilled to chat with former student Lemaa Alisha, who recently received an offer to study Law at the University of Oxford.
Lemaa, who studied at TRS from 2018 to 2023 before moving on to Oldham Sixth Form College, shared her incredible journey with us and reflected on how she got to this point.
Her family were ‘over the moon’ when they heard the news, as she’s the first in her family to go to university. Getting an offer from one of the world’s top educational institutions is no small feat, and Lemaa has worked incredibly hard to get here. She’s always had a passion for making a difference, and for her, Law is one of the best ways to create real change in the world.
The interview process was intense, with three virtual interviews over a week, involving text analysis and in-depth Q&A sessions. But now, she’s focusing on her A-Level exams in May, hoping to secure the grades she needs to confirm her place at Oxford on results day in August.
Lemaa first started considering Oxford after attending a summer access programme, which gave her a taste of university life there. She applied to several universities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Warwick, and UCL, all for Law. While she loved UCL and Manchester, the opportunity at Oxford was too good to pass up.
She’ll also be taking part in Opportunity Oxford, a two-week programme before term starts, designed to help students from non-traditional backgrounds settle into life at university. This will give her the chance to get used to both Oxford and her new academic environment before the real work begins in September.
Her success is even more impressive considering only nine students from Oldham Sixth Form College received offers from Oxbridge this year, three of whom, including Lemaa, came from Radclyffe School!
During her time at school, Lemaa was always engaged in making a difference. She was a member of the Oldham Youth Council and a student ambassador, with a strong passion for human rights and activism. She firmly believes that human rights law is one of the most effective ways to bring about social change, and that’s exactly what she wants to do with her career.
Looking back, she says her GCSE subject choices played a big role in helping her figure out her strengths. She chose Computer Science, Business Studies, History, and Religious Studies, and while History was a bit of a last-minute decision, it ended up being her favourite! That love for History led her to study it at A-Level, alongside Law and Government & Politics.
For students currently thinking about their future, Lemaa has some great advice: “You don’t have to have it all figured out right now! Your last two years of school are a great time to learn more about yourself, what you enjoy, and what you’re good at. Try to pick a mix of subjects, both essay-based and STEM, so you can find out what suits you best.”
Now, as she prepares for this next exciting chapter, she’s looking forward to seeing how she grows and develops at Oxford. She’s particularly excited to learn from world-leading academics and take advantage of all the incredible opportunities that studying at Oxford will bring.
When asked about her future, Lemaa is clear. She wants to become a solicitor, specialising in human rights law. She’s passionate about helping people and making a real difference, and we have no doubt that she’ll go on to achieve amazing things.
If she could give her younger self one piece of advice, she says it would be: “Be a bit more confident, raise your hand more and get involved in all that you can!”
She describes her time at The Radclyffe School in three words: Growth, exciting, and opportunistic.
Lemaa’s story is a fantastic reminder that with hard work, passion, and belief in yourself, anything is possible. We’re so proud of her and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
