On July 10th, I will be setting off from Morecombe Bay with 50 other cyclists from Hertford. Over three days we will be cycling 336km and climbing over 3000m to raise money for outreach and access work at Hertford College. 

Our Tour de Hertford will be taking in the most beautiful parts of the Lancashire landscape and Yorkshire moors, as well as tackling several climbs featured in the 2014 Tour de France. Not only a cycling challenge, we are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of Neil Tanner’s revolutionary admissions initiative, and will be passing through some of the areas he targeted in 1965.

Neil Tanner was committed to widening access and in the 1960s he broke the mould by proactively engaging with grammar and comprehensive schools that had little or no previous Oxbridge contact, and encouraging their best students to apply to Hertford. His two E offer and interview in the fourth term created shockwaves amongst the University, and prompted other colleges to review and drastically improve their approach to outreach.

In 2015, it is the 50th anniversary of Neil becoming Tutor for Admissions and the full implementation of the Tanner scheme. The alumni who benefited from this initiative have expressed such warm feelings for Neil and gratitude for all that his scheme did for them, it was only fitting that we mark his memory with a fundraising bike ride in support of the future students at Hertford.