Our project has progressed substantially; I can look back at the confusion I felt at the beginning of our research and see a huge difference in my confidence and sense of direction.  We are now at the stage where we are ready to begin interviewing people for our primary evidence. This means the end of our project is approaching, which is quite nerve-wracking as I want to ensure our report truly reflects all the hard work my group has put in and the support and time which we have received.

We have also grown into a flow as we lead our afterschool club sessions, as we get to know the children more and how to engage them the best. It is going to be quite challenging to finish our clubs and leave them after spending a few weeks getting to know them and see them progressing. Though I am sure this will not be a finite end of our relationship with the schools. 

Last week, we were very lucky to have been able to get a tour of the area where the schools are from a local community leader. We were able to gain a greater and crucial understanding of the area we are working with, as we explored the many community hubs there. One thing that we all noticed was the sense of neighbourliness between the people there, with their many grounding and gathering points such as the CommuniTea. We had a delicious lunch there, enriched by the food and the company. Many key members of the community joined our table and shared their thoughts on the area, our project and what it is like to be of African descent living in Greater Oxford. I found a connection with one of the community elders about our shared Jamaican heritage, and I felt excited about my trip to Jamaica next summer! It was good to hear some critical insights about Oxford’s community outreach, as it gave us a minute of pause as we reflected on how our project aligned with their needs and continued to grow a positive relationship.

Next week, we are going to start interviewing people, which I am a bit nervous about but equally very excited as we will gather perspectives on extracurriculars and community-university engagement which we cannot gain purely through reading articles and academic papers. I am most looking forward to going back to CommuniTea and doing some mini-interviews with locals there.