A Gerrards Cross resident has said she is “overwhelmed” to have been named in His Majesty the King’s Birthday Honours List 2024.
Dr Samina Khan, who is director of undergraduate admissions and outreach at the University of Oxford, has been honoured with an MBE for services to higher education.
Speaking to CHALFONTS&GERRARDSCROSSnews, she said: “It’s a bit overwhelming! It’s something I never would have expected. I had no idea until the nominations were going from the Prime Minister to the King for approval.”
After reading Chemistry at King’s College London and completing a PhD at Loughborough University, Dr Khan undertook a PGCE at the University of Oxford. She taught for several years in state schools before working for the Department of Education and for the Edexcel and Pearson examination body.
In 2012, Dr Khan joined Oxford as their deputy director of undergraduate admissions and outreach and became director in 2014. All of this experience, Dr Khan says, has given her a real understanding of the “education landscape”.
She said: “Sometimes, there’s a reputation of people at Oxford as being up in their ivory tower. I want to demystify Oxford and encourage really academically bright people to apply.
“We want diversity. Diversity is important for pushing the boundaries of academic thought. We normalise Oxford by working with schools and students. It’s important for Oxford to have students from a broad range of backgrounds.
“One of our priorities is supporting those children whose educational journeys have been impacted by COVID-19.
“Education has been my lifetime passion.”
Dr Khan has lived in Gerrards Cross for many years and has raised her two sons in the town, both of whom went to The Chalfonts Community College.
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