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A Nescot alumnus starts her degree at Oxford University this week.

Azezia Edwards is reading Fine Art at Lady Margaret Hall, where previous graduates have included Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and where Harper Lee was a visiting student.

Azezia has been able to join directly, without following the usual route of doing an art foundation year first, and she attributes this to her Art and Design qualification at Nescot.

“Because of the way the course at Nescot is structured and taught, I have a big body of artwork and lots of different styles and techniques,” Azezia said.

“At Nescot we were encouraged to work from a brief, to experiment and to push boundaries, and to expand our ideas with lots of research, and that process has been good preparation for Oxford.”

Azezia was a pupil at specialist dyslexic schools Moon Hall and Fairley House before coming to Nescot, and she finished her Extended Diploma with a triple distinction, the highest profile possible.

She said she wasn’t originally planning to apply to Oxford but liked the approach of Lady Margaret Hall and enjoyed the experience of being interviewed online by the admissions panel.

“It wasn’t what I was expecting at all,” she said. “The interviewers made me feel really welcome, and we talked about the art I’d created at Nescot, my inspiration, and my hopes for the future.”

Azezia said she is looking forward to settling into her degree and meeting her tutors, as well as learning more about the history and context of art and continuing to improve her own artwork.

“The number one piece of advice I would give someone is to have confidence in themselves and their ideas and their work,” she said.

“I try to have the mindset of ‘Why not me?’, because you’ll never find out if you don’t try. It’s an amazing opportunity to study at Oxford, and I’ll be making the most of every day here.”

Louise Gaskin, Head of Creative Arts at Nescot, said: “We’re really proud of Azezia. She was a pleasure to teach, and we look forward to seeing her go from strength to strength in her career.”

Nescot offers qualifications in Art and Design at Level 1, Level 2, and the Level 3 Extended Diploma. You can read more on our website here.