Thamima

Thamima Choudhury was born and raised in Tower Hamlets in a two-bedroom council flat which she shared with her mum and siblings. Whilst it was often tricky to find her own quiet place to study she didn’t
let that stop her! This is her story.

At school, two teachers in particular encouraged me to apply to Oxford: Dr Wells, who helped me to follow my own path and gave me a passion for my subject; and Mr Ansell, who is a real hero to me.

Mr Ansell went to Magdalen College. He’d come in early and stay late at school to ensure we were getting the support we needed. He cared so much about us doing well. I owe him a lot.
It was at the Oxford Open Day that I came to Magdalen for the first time. I found it intimidating at first, but as I went into the grounds I was met by the Outreach Team who found a History student who was on her way to a lecture who had a chat with me. It really helped.

What is so incredible about Magdalen is the mixture of students from different types of school; people from different cultures and religions, all coming together to form the most wonderful community

I remember the day I was accepted to Magdalen; my mum read the letter out, but as her English isn’t the best it took her ages! When she saw that I had been accepted she burst into tears, it was such a special moment for our family.

In the weeks before I came to Magdalen, I discovered that my student loan wouldn’t arrive until the first week of term. I felt at a complete loss at what to do. My College parents suggested I write to the Student Support Administrators to see if they could help.

I got the nicest response back and they said they’d make me a grant to tide me over. It was clear
that there were people who cared about me at
Magdalen and wanted me to succeed.

What is so incredible about Magdalen is the mixture of students from different types of school; people from different cultures and religions, all coming together to form the most wonderful community.